After years of being shut down, the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) said the rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) will be completed by the end of 2024 .
The Managing Director of KRPC, Mustafa Sugungun, disclosed this on Monday during an oversight visit to the refinery by members of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Petroleum Downstream led by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.
He explained that the 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery will start producing at 60 percent capacity by the end of the year, while full production will take place subsequently.
The KRPC boss explained that the rehabilitation work, which is presently at 40 percent, is expected to be completed within the stipulated time frame
He said, “Our rehabilitation is going on well and steadily according to the plan we have. We are planning to bring this plant to 60 percent nominal capacity by December 31st, 2024.
“Currently, we are heading towards 40 percent of rehabilitation. We remain committed to bringing back the plant at least 60 percent of our nominal capacity.
“The overall capacity of Kaduna Refinery is 110, 000 barels per day, but we are starting with only 60 percent of that. And in less than one year, we will attain the 110,000 capacity.
“So this initial plant operation is for 60 percent Nigerian crude and 50, 000 barrels of imported crude. Imported crude is mainly for lubricants and other petrochemical aspect of it.”
On his part, Senator Ubah said that the oversight visit was part of the collaborative effort of the President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to ensure that all the nation’s refineries are brought back to life, and consequently enable the country to end the importation of petroleum products.
The Kaduna refinery was established in 1980 to supply petroleum products to Nigeria’s Northern region, with a capacity of producing 110,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
For many years, he Kaduna refinery, just like it’s counterparts in Portharcourt and Warri, has been out of production, leaving the country to rely heavily on imported petroleum products.