The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has confirmed the commencement of operations at the Warri Refinery and Petro Chemical Company. The Refinery, with a 125,000 barrel per day capacity, commenced operations today, Monday.
The NNPCL, Group CEO, Mele Kyari, confirmed the commencement of operations during a tour of the facility, noting that it is now functioning at 60% capacity. Mele said that the inspection was intended to showcase the level of progress achieved at the facility, emphasising that though the repairs are not yet fully complete, operations have commenced.
Commissioned in 1978, the Warri Refinery was established to boost Nigeria’s local crude supply and reduce reliance on fuel importation while supplying the South-South and South Western part of the country. It is one of the four state-owned refineries in the country that have struggled for many years to meet the daily demand for petroleum products.
The inability of these refineries to function for decades created an over dependence on fuel importation, which put a major strain on the country’s foreign exchange reserve. Also, it necessitated the creation of a subsidy regime targeted at making the price of refined fuel affordable after importation. With subsidy payment eliminated, Nigeria has been working towards boosting its local refining capacity to reduce pressure on the foreign exchange and ensure effective supply of the product.
The Warri refinery is coming a month after Port Harcourt Refinery commenced operations and some months after the private Dangote Refinery began refining fuel for local and regional consumption.
