After nearly a decade of dormancy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) has commenced partial production, marking a significant step in Nigeria’s quest for functional local refineries.
The refinery, inactive since 2015 due to prolonged repairs, reportedly began refining activities last Saturday at its Area 1 plant, where crude oil was successfully pumped into the system.
This was coming about a month after the commencement of operations at the 60,000-barrel-per-day-old Port Harcourt Refinery.
The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, announced the resumption of operation at the Warri Refinery during a tour of the facility on Monday.
Kyari was seen in a video posted by Channels TV addressing a tour team, which included the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed.
Earlier, Kyari explained that the inspection aimed to show Nigerians the level of work completed so far.
He said though the repairs on the facility were not 100 per cent complete, operations had commenced.
He said, “We are taking you through our plant. This plant is running. Although it is not 100 per cent complete, we are still in the process. Many people think these things are not real. They think real things are not possible in this country. We want you to see that this is real.”
