Warri Refinery Now Operating at 60% Capacity — Kyari

NNPC boss Mele Kyari announces that the Warri Refinery is operating at 60% capacity, signaling progress in Nigeria’s oil sector reforms.

The Warri Refinery, with a capacity of 125,000 barrels per day, is currently operating at 60% capacity.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited disclosed this information while touring the facility on Monday.

An analysis reveals that 60 percent of the daily production, which amounts to 125,000 barrels each day, results in the facility processing 75,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Before the facility tour commenced, Kyari addressed the team and said, “We are about to take you through our operational plant. Although it’s not yet 100 percent complete, we are making progress. Many doubt that such things can be real or attainable in this country. We want to demonstrate that it is indeed possible.”

I would like to commend our team for their unwavering determination and strong belief in the potential of restarting this plant.

This has resulted in what we are witnessing through our collaboration with contractors. We have demonstrated that it’s feasible to restart a plant after deliberately shutting it down, and we’ve proven this successfully.

The plant operates in three stages. We have initiated stage one, known as Area 1, which has the capability to produce AGO (diesel), kerosene, naphtha, and other products. These are high-quality brands that meet domestic demands and can also be exported. This development positions our country to generate revenue and fulfill Mr. President’s promise of transforming us into an exporter of petroleum products.

I need to document that the progress we’re seeing is due to Mr. President’s directive for us to get all three refineries operational. This initiative is already underway. We have successfully launched the Port Harcourt refinery with a capacity of 65,000 barrels per day and commenced operations in area 1 of the Warri refinery. Additionally, other plants designed to produce PMS will soon be up and running as well.

“Kaduna is also in progress. We won’t specify a date, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

Included in the tour team was Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Situated in Ekpan, Uwvie, and Ubeji within Warri, the petrochemical plant annually produces 13 million tons of polypropylene and 18 thousand tons of carbon black.

The WRPC, commissioned in 1978 and managed by the NNPCL, was constructed to serve markets in Nigeria’s southern and southwestern regions.

According to Olufemi Soneye, the spokesperson for NNPCL, the mechanical completion of the facility was initially planned for the first quarter of this year.

He mentioned that Warri should be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

The other two are the old and new Port Harcourt Refining Company located in Rivers State, and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company situated in Kaduna State.

This development follows the recent start of crude oil refining at the old Port Harcourt Refinery, which has a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day.