About five months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) said it had commenced the search for companies to take over the running of the Kaduna and Warri Refineries, the national oil company has unveiled plans to ‘modernise’ the facilities.
The NNPC last week announced that the 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) Port Harcourt Refinery and the Kaduna Refinery are undergoing a comprehensive overhaul aimed at meeting world-class standards.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, in response to comments from former President Olusegun Obasanjo regarding the refineries’ rehabilitation on Thursday.
According to NNPC, the rehabilitation of the 60,000 bpd Port Harcourt and Warri refineries exceeds traditional Turnaround Maintenance (TAM), representing a full revamp to meet global standards.
He reaffirmed NNPC Ltd.’s commitment to restoring and maintaining the refineries to global standards for sustainable operations.
It was reported that NNPC had in August 2024, announced plans to concession the facilities having committed enormous sums of taxpayers’ money in fixing the plants over the years.
In a circular on its website, the national oil company said, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is seeking to engage reputable and credible Operations & Maintenance (O&M) companies to operate and maintain two of its refineries, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), to ensure reliability and sustainability to meet the nation’s fuel supply and energy security obligations.”
Speaking on an Arise Television News programme recently, an oil and gas expert, Mr Godwin Ibe, noted that though the arrangement was still unclear as to what the role of NNPCL would be when it transfers the operation and maintenance of the refineries to another party, the continued operation of the refineries by NNPC should stop.
Answering a question on the feasibility of achieving the objective of the exercise as explained by NNPCL, Mr Ibe lamented the many years that the plants had laid dormant, and observed that a large portion of the plant would have become obsolete as the manufacturers of those plants would no longer be in existence, adding that the facilities ought to have been sold off.
“The ideal situation would be to sell off the refineries to private investors. If NNPC still wants to be involved, they should have equity because it has been proved that NNPCL cannot operate the refineries. They should not be the operator.
“If Dangote had acquired those refineries, we would have gone far in resolving the lingering energy challenges that now confront the nation in terms of producing what we require as a country. These refineries should be sold out,” he emphasised.
“The ideal situation would be to sell off the refineries to private investors. If NNPC still wants to be involved, they should have equity because it has been proved that NNPCL cannot operate the refineries. They should not be the operator.”
Coming after many assurances by the NNPCL management to fix and deliver the refineries, including the ones located in Warri and Kaduna, and having committed enormous sums of taxpayers’ money in fixing the plants, the recent announcement was a huge surprise to Nigerians.
