The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) will resume production at 60% capacity by December 2024, after years of being shut down due to lack of maintenance.
According to the Managing Director of KRPC, Mustafa Sugungun, the rehabilitation work, currently at 40%, is expected to be completed within the stipulated time frame. The 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery will start producing at 60% capacity by the end of the year, with full production to follow subsequently.
Senate Committee Visits Refinery
The announcement was made during an oversight visit to the refinery by members of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Petroleum Downstream, led by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. The committee’s visit is part of a collaborative effort by the President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to revive the nation’s refineries and end the importation of petroleum products.
Kaduna Refinery’s Capacity
The Kaduna refinery, established in 1980, has a capacity of producing 110,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Initially, the refinery will operate at 60% capacity, using 60% Nigerian crude and 50,000 barrels of imported crude for lubricants and petrochemicals.
Ending Importation of Petroleum Products
Senator Ubah emphasized that the goal of the oversight visit is to ensure that all the nation’s refineries are brought back to life, enabling the country to end its reliance on imported petroleum products. The Kaduna refinery, like its counterparts in Port Harcourt and Warri, has been out of production for many years, leaving Nigeria to rely heavily on imports.
