Warri refinery to resume operations by November.

Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) , Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has said that Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), Ekpan was shut down following the on-going maintenance and debunked the rumour that it was due to crude shortage.

The NNPC boss who made the clarification yesterday during his maiden visit to the refinery, described the speculation as unfounded. “The Warri Refinery wasn’t shut down because of lack of crude supply, rather the Refinery was not supplied because it was down, this is different thing altogether” he said.
“It makes no sense to supply a refinery that was totally down. There is no point getting crude when the refinery is sitting idle.
“They had a problem, that was why they shut down. But they are working assiduously on it. I have a timeline of November to be able to get the refinery back,” Kachikwu further stressed.
He said the problems with the refineries is that for the past 10 to 15 years, there has been no major maintenance. “The reality is that for over 10 to 15 years, no serious maintenance has been done on the plants. The refinery will be back on stream by the end of the work we are doing, first week of November precisely. There are some components of the refinery that are running now but we are focusing on the area where the bread and butter is,” Kachiukwu said.

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