Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has indicated that the reconstruction of the Kaduna Refinery will be finished by the end of 2024.
He made the announcement during a tour of the refinery on Saturday, during which he restated the Federal Government’s resolve to ending petroleum product imports through the revival of the nation’s refineries.
The Kaduna Refinery, with a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, is one of Nigeria’s four dysfunctional refineries, which have generated no fuel for many years, forcing the country to rely heavily on imported petroleum products.
However, in February 2023, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) inked an agreement for the restoration of the refinery with a Korean company, Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited.
The minister of state for petroleum resources paid a visit to the refinery on Saturday to inspect the status of the ongoing rehabilitation work under the quick-fix project.
The minister was joined by NNPCL Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari and other ministry officials.
Mustapha Sugungun, Managing Director of Kaduna Refinery, showed the minister and his colleagues around the site.
According to government sources, the refinery’s last turn-around maintenance was performed roughly 15 years ago.
However, based on the progress achieved thus far by the contractor in charge of the restoration work, the petroleum minister is hopeful that the refinery will be operational by the end of 2024. The NNPCL president echoed this hope.
