Kaduna, Warri refineries commence production of petrol

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Nigerians who have been suffering endemic fuel scarcity may now heave a sigh of relief, as Kaduna and Warri refineries have been re-streamed to produce premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, for distribution in the country.

According to inside sources, Kaduna refinery is now operating at 60 percent installed capacity which will enable it produce about 1.3 million litres of PMS per day. He said if its capacity is increased to 70 percent it will produce about 2.5 million litres of PMS per day maximum.  The source said the refinery currently produces 900,000 litres of automotive gas oil (AGO) and 700,000 litres of household kerosene (HHK), saying the current production level is far from what the country needs to meet its daily demand of petroleum products.

Nigeria consumes about 33 million litres of petrol per day, 14 million litres of AGO and between 8 and 10 million litres of kerosene per day. According to BusinessDay's investigation, Warri refinery produces about the same volume of products like Kaduna refinery.

According to a statement by the group general manager, group public affairs division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Levi Ajuonuma, Kaduna refinery fully came on stream February 19, 2010. This is coming two weeks after the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) came on stream after the re-commissioning of its vital units.

Industry operators said the coming on stream of the refineries may not solve the problem of heavy dependence on fuel importation, saying when the refineries work at full capacity they will only produce 18 million litres per day. NNPC expressed optimism that with the refineries now back on stream, the challenge of fuel queues noticed in some states of the federation would soon become a thing of the past. Already, the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, has begun the evacuation and marketing of the petroleum products from the revamped refineries.

Source: Kaduna, Warri refineries commence production of petrol

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