Refinery - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Ismail Abdulaziz
Dec, Tue, 2024

Video: Warri Refinery on board with Naphtha, Diesel, Kerosene

345 total views today

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) says it has revived the Warri Refinery with the re-streaming of the plant’s Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).

The NNPC Ltd. said the restreaming of the CDU on Monday, marked the beginning of the gradual start-up of the refinery following its successful rehabilitation.

The NNPC Ltd. in a statement by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said it had delivered on its promise to revive the Warri Refinery by the end of 2024.

Speaking at a tour of the Warri Refinery Complex in Ekpan, Delta State, the Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC), Mr Chu Efifia, explained that the CDU was successfully re-streamed.

Efifia said the plant had commenced the production of petroleum products such as Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel), Household Kerosene (HHK), Naphtha, and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).

Giving further details about the production status of the refinery, the Managing Director said the plant was currently processing 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) which translated to 60 per cent of installed capacity.

He said that the plant was currently producing 2.9 million litres of diesel, 1.9 million litres of kerosene and 4.9 million litres of fuel oil.

He added that the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol, will follow in the days ahead as other units of the refinery come on stream.

Highlighting its significance, Mr Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd., said it was the beginning of Nigeria’s journey to becoming a net producer and exporter of refined petroleum products.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, NNPC Ltd., Chief Pius Akinyelure, also expressed satisfaction with the development, adding that soon Nigeria would exit petroleum products importation and become a net exporter.

Mr Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), congratulated NNPC Ltd. on the feat.

Ahmed said with the coming on stream of more refineries, there would be more competition in the market.

He said that this would in turn force down the pump price of petroleum products to the benefit of Nigerians.

The 125,000bpd capacity Warri Refinery was commissioned in 1978.

It was shut down for rehabilitation in 2021 with Daewoo Engineering as the EPC contractor.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

Rabi'u Sani Ali
Dec, Sat, 2024

Oil & Gas

Port Harcourt refinery fully operational – NNPC

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By Emmanuella Anokam

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), says the old Port Harcourt refinery is fully operational and preparation for Saturday loading operation is currently ongoing.

The NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

Soneye advised members of the public to discountenance false media reports that the refinery which was re-streamed in November has been shut down.

He described such reports as the figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.

”The attention of the NNPC Ltd. has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed has been shut down.

“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors (GMDs) of NNPC.

“Preparation for the Saturday’s loading operation is currently ongoing,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity refinery, which attained its mechanical completion in 2023, began its truck-out of petroleum products on Nov. 26, following its rehabilitation.

The development signaled the commencement of crude oil processing from the plant and petroleum products delivery to markets.

The resumption of the refinery followed a lot of skepticism and criticism from some critics alleging that the rehabilitated refinery was a scam.

Amid the controversy, some renowned Nigerians, marketers and society of engineers among others had toured the refinery and confirmed that it is operational.

The refinery, which is the country’s oldest and biggest among the three government-owned refineries and located in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, began operation in 1965. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Uche Anunne

Philip Daniel Yatai
Nov, Wed, 2024

Oil & Gas

Port Harcourt refinery begins operation

550 total views today

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Port Harcourt Refinery, managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) through the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC) has commenced operations after undergoing rehabilitation and modernisation.

The refinery with 210,000 bpd refining capacity located at Alesa, Eleme, in Port Harcourt, comprises two operational units which were established in 1965 and 1989.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the old plant refines a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), while the new plant refines 150,000 bpd.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government, under former President, Muhammadu Buhari, had in March 2021 secured a 1.5 billion dollars loan to rehabilitate the facility which contract was awarded to an Italian firm, Tecnimont S.P.A, a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont Group.

NAN reports that Malam Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd. is leading the team to inspect the first lifting of petroleum products from the facility after its rehabilitation.

Speaking at the Refinery on Tuesday, Kyari commended the contractors for doing a great job in ensuring that the refinery was delivered in spite of all challenges and unforeseen circumstances.

“The refinery is running, it is almost a new refinery because every rotating equipment, every compressor is new, we have practically changed everything.

“There is one unit which has never worked for 27 years, but it is back on stream.

“Everything that happened was something we did not have control over, it’s an old machine which would start and fail, it is normal for a plant, so you cannot make promises on it.

“This is really a moment of value for our country because it changes narratives about governance. It brings to the fore what leadership push can bring to systems and institutions,” he said.

He thanked President Bola Tinubu for his unwavering support and understanding towards the rehabilitation of the project and for his persistence to ensure energy security for the country.

They also thanked Nigerians for their patience and for the legitimate expectations of the company to deliver on the other refineries.

Mr Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) while congratulating the NNPC Ltd for achieving the milestone, lauded the upgrade of the old plant to a new technology.

“The flare is clean and has no smoke which shows that the plant is working very well and also compliant with environmental requirements,” he said.

Ahmed said all the regulatory support required was granted by the NMDPRA, adding that it would continue to support the completion of the rehabilitation work at the other refineries.

The Refinery Project Manager, Caccavielo Luca expressed satisfaction on the upgrade and re-streaming of the refinery after years of being moribund, adding that the same passion would be applied for the rest of the plant.

The PHRC rehabilitation project, is an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning (EPCIC) project that is aimed at restoring the refinery to full functionality and renewal.

The refinery according to the NNPC Ltd. reached “mechanical completion” of rehabilitation work in December 2023, as it said that the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after the 2023 Christmas holiday.

In January, NNPC Ltd, Kyari, said that the refinery was being tested and would be ready by the end of January.

The promise came after the company said it was seeking to engage a reputable company to operate the refinery.

NNPC made further promises when the refinery failed to commence operation in January, that it would now begin operations in April. This, also did not materialise.

Further promises were made that the refinery would commence operations in July and August of this year, of which none of those new dates materialised.

Some Nigerians including former President Olusegun Obasanjo had expressed disappointment that the nation’s refineries have remained moribund for years, as the country had depended on imported product for about 20 years. (NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams