By Abiola Olawale
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has unveiled strategic plans to handover both the Warri and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Companies to private operators. Indeed, the NNPCL revealed that it is currently exploring an option of engaging reputable, credible operations and Maintenance companies, to run the activities of both the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, respectively.
The oil corporation made this disclosure in a statement on Friday on its official X handle.
Listing its requirements, the NNPCL said any company to participate in the bidding is also expected to have a turnover of at least USD 2 billion for the financial years ending 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The statement reads in part: “Expression of Interest (EOI) For the Provision of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Services for NNPC Limited Refineries (Combined Tender): Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
“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 PetrochemicalCompany (WRPC) and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), to ensure reliability and sustainability to meet the nation’s fuel supply and energy security obligations.
“The O&M tender for WRPC and KRPC will be treated as a single tender through a three (3) stage tender process (EOI, Technical and Commercial) leveraging on all the possible opportunity costs associated with procurement of consumables, personnel/ manpower management, utilization of Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS), Warehousing Management System (WMS) etc.
“The O&M Contract scope of work shall cover, but not be limited to, the following: Long term and short-term production/operations planning Production and operations execution.”
The New Diplomat reports that this development is coming amid controversies around the optimal functionality of the current refineries including several monies already pumped into the refineries yet there hasn’t been any evident functional capabilities.
It would be recalled that the Warri refinery located in Warri Delta State was commissioned in 1978. The Warri refinery is a complex conversion refinery with a nameplate distillation capacity of 6,250,000 MTA (125,000 bpd). The refinery complex includes a petrochemical plant commissioned in 1988 with production capacities of 13,000 MTA of polypropylene and 18,000 MTA of carbon black. The refinery is meant to supply markets in the south and southwest regions of Nigeria.
On its part, the Kaduna refinery was commissioned in 1980 to supply petroleum products to Northern Nigeria with a capacity of 50,000 B/D. In 1983, the capacity was expanded to 100,000 B/D by adding a second 50,000 B/D crude train dedicated to the production of lubricating oils (lubes). In 1986, the capacity of the first crude train was expanded to 60,000 B/D. The expansions have increased the current nameplate capacity of the refinery to 110,000 B/D.
