The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited yesterday said it signed a maintenance services contract with South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited for a “quick-fix repair” of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) Limited.
In a tweet on Thursday, NNPC said the project will be completed in three work packages as a maintenance services contract over a 21-month period at a maximum cost of $740.7 million.
At the contract signing ceremony, the Executive Vice-president, Downstream, NNPC, Adeyemi Adetunji, said the quick-fix strategy guarantees the fastest route to restreaming the Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company Limited (WRPC), and KRPC for in-country production of refined petroleum products.
He said: “Restoring WRPC and KRPC back to operation will guarantee energy security for the country, and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products in view of near total dependence on the supply of imported petroleum products and the impact the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is having on global supply.
“Also, this will generate revenue, reduce demand for forex, supply raw materials to industries, create employment for Nigerians, and ensure technology transfer, amongst other benefits.”
He explained that the refineries are being repaired through a combination of internally generated revenue and third-party financing.
Restoring WRPC and KRPC back to operation will guarantee energy security for the country, and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products in view of near total dependence on the supply of imported petroleum products…
He added after the three refineries – Kaduna, Warri, and Port-Harcourt are rehabilitated, globally reputable operations and maintenance contractors would be hired to run them safely, reliably, sustainably, and profitably.
Adetunji continued: “Meanwhile, the rehabilitation of PHRC has progressed considerably. The old refinery is currently at 64 per cent completion and the plant is expected back in operation in Q2 2023, while the entire PHRC rehabilitation project now stands at about 59 per cent
“On the other hand, WRPC quick-fix project has achieved 28 per cent completion and is expected to be restreamed by the end of this year.”
Adetunji expressed NNPC’s Board and management commitment to providing all necessary support to ensure that the refineries are repaired and operational on time and within schedule.
Recall that last year; the NNPC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daewoo Group, for the rehabilitation of the Kaduna refinery for which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.48 billion for the project.
