Warri Refinery Resumes Production After Rehabilitation

The Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) in Warri, Delta State has resumed operations. The plant, with a capacity of 125,000 barrels per day, restarted production just a month after the successful rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.

Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), during a tour of the WRPC facility on Monday, confirmed that operations had officially resumed despite the plant not being fully completed. Kyari, addressing a delegation that included Farouk Ahmed, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), reassured the team that significant progress had been made.

“This plant is running,” Kyari stated. “Although it is not 100% complete, we are still in the process. Many people think these things are not real. They think real things are not possible in this country. We want you to see that this is real.”

The tour of the facility was intended to demonstrate the level of work completed so far, underscoring Nigeria’s commitment to repairing its ageing refineries. The WRPC is part of a broader strategy to reduce the country’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products, which have long strained Nigeria’s economy.

The resumption of operations at WRPC comes at a time when the federal government is facing increasing pressure to address fuel supply challenges and improve local refining capacity. The rehabilitation of both the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, once major contributors to Nigeria’s refining output, is seen as a crucial step in achieving energy self-sufficiency.

Industry experts believe that once fully operational, the refinery could play a pivotal role in meeting Nigeria’s growing fuel demand