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.
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