The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has announced that the 125,000-barrel-per-day Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) in Warri, Delta State, has commenced operation.
This is happening 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, disclosed this during a tour of the facility on Monday.
In a video posted by Channels TV on Monday, showed Kyari addressing a tour team, which included the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (MMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed.
Kyari, before the commencement of the tour, had explained that the inspection is aimed to show Nigerians the level of work completed so far.
According to him, although the repairs on the facility are not yet 100 per cent complete, operations have 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.”
The petrochemical plant, which is located in Ekpan, Uwvie, and Ubeji, Warri, produces 13,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTA) of polypropylene and 18,000 MTA of carbon black.
It was commissioned in 1978 and managed by NNPCL, the WRPC was built to supply markets in the southern and southwestern regions of Nigeria.
According to the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, the mechanical completion of the facility was initially scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
“Warri should be done by Q1 (first quarter) 2024,” Soneye stated.
The WRPC is one of Nigeria’s four refineries, alongside the old and new Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company in Kaduna State.
