NNPCL to complete Warri refinery Q1

The mechanical completion of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of this year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said.

WRPC, located in Warri, Delta State and established in 1978, is one of Nigeria’s three refineries under the management of NNPCL.

The other two include the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State, and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company in Kaduna State. Rehabilitation work is also ongoing at both facilities.

The Warri refinery is a complex conversion refinery with a capacity to refine 125,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The facility includes a petrochemical plant (established in 1988) producing polypropylene and carbon black.

It supplies petroleum products to southern and south-western Nigeria, but is not producing refined products currently due to the rehabilitation of the facility by the Federal Government.

However, in a brief response to an enquiry by our correspondent with regards to when the plant would be mechanical completed, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer , NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, state that target was to have it sorted in the first quarter of this year.

“Warri should be done by Q1 (first quarter) 2024,” he stated.

Recall that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated on Wednesday that the Warri refinery was still being worked on.

He disclosed this while responding to a question about the Port Harcourt refinery, whose mechanical completion was widely celebrated on December 21, 2023 by the Federal Government.

Lokpobiri had explained that the rehabilitation exercise at the plants were massive, but expressed optimism that the facilities would come on stream soon.

“These were projects that are very fundamental to our survival economically, and I believe that very soon products will start coming from there. But there are several components in these gigantic structures that will take time mechanically to finalise for products to start coming.

“Recall that the Dangote refinery was commissioned by the Buhari administration but they haven’t started releasing products because it takes time. So I believe that the Port Harcourt refinery will soon come and the Warri refinery is in top gear,” the minister had stated.

Soneye had also told our correspondent earlier that the Port Harcourt refinery was undergoing finishing touches, as the government was working hard to get the plant running.

“We’ve successfully completed the mechanical phase of the PH (Port Harcourt) refinery Area-5 plant, installing all vital components. Licensor inspection has been done, and catalysts delivered.

“Now, industry-based testing remains, focusing on leaks, air, line blowing, flushing, drying, steam out, calibration, plant inerting, and then hydrocarbon introduction.

“While we share the optimism, adherence to global best practices is crucial. Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. Production should commence shortly,” the NNPCL spokesperson had stated.

Recall that on December 21, 2023, the Federal Government announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State.

It also stated that the first phase of the plant had been completed, adding that the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil after the Christmas break. However, this has yet to happen.