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.
AbleMoJah® Nigeria.
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