Abuja—The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, disclosed yesterday that Kaduna Refinery will resume the production of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS (petrol), within the next three months. This was even as NNPC stated that it had lifted the embargo earlier placed on 113 vessels, banning them from engaging in crude oil and gas loading activities in any of the terminals within Nigerian territorial waters.
In a statement by NNPC in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated that the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit, FCCU, and the fuel section of the refinery would be brought back to life within this period to ensure that Nigerians continue to enjoy uninterrupted supply of petroleum products.
Kachikwu, who stated this during a facility tour of the Kaduna Refining Petrochemical Company, KRPC, said the refinery will get a turn around that will make it commercially sustainable.
He said: “All the component units of the refinery, including the FCCU and the fuel section, will be fully rehabilitated for resumption of crude supply to the plant.
“You will soon have a different company; we must do all it takes to make this company a success.”
Need for more refineries
He stressed the need for the establishment of more refineries, especially in view of the low refining capacity of the country, adding that NNPC is planning to build additional refineries.
He said: “I am pushing to build new refineries next to our existing plants to boost the nation’s refining capacity for the common good.
“The new refineries will be developed by private investors and NNPC’s role will be just to provide them with space close to the existing refineries to enable them share key facilities such as pipelines and storage facilities.”
Also speaking, Group Executive Director, Refining & Technology, Mr. Dennis Ajulu, expressed optimism in the ability of NNPC to rise above its challenges and reposition itself on the path of profitability.
Managing Director of KRPC, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, said staff of the company were fully aligned to the vision of commercialization and that they would support Kachikwu in that drive.
Conditional embargo lifting
On the embargo on the 113 oil vessels, NNPC stated that the lifting of the ban is subject to the receipt of Letters of Comfort from all terminal operators, oil companies and off-takers of Nigerian oil and gas as guarantee that nominated vessels, pending the outcome of investigation, are unencumbered and would not be utilized for any illegal activity.
The corporation noted that in view of the above, Federal Government had approved the establishment of an inter-agency committee comprising Department of State Services, DSS; Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA; Nigerian Navy, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and NNPC with the mandate to collect data and investigate the activities of the banned vessels within Nigerian territorial waters.
