The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, has announced that the rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery will be completed by the end of 2024.
He made the disclosure during an inspection tour of the refinery on Saturday, where he reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to end petroleum product importation through the resuscitation of the nation’s refineries.
The 110,000 bpd capacity Kaduna Refinery is one of Nigeria’s four dysfunctional refineries that have produced no petrol for many years, leaving the country to rely heavily on imported petroleum products.
However, in February 2023, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) signed an agreement with a Korean Company, Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited for the rehabilitation of the refinery.
On Saturday, the minister of state for petroleum resources visited the refinery to assess the level of the ongoing rehabilitation work under the quick-fix project.
The minister was accompanied by the NNPCL Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, and other senior officials of the ministry.
The Managing Director of Kaduna Refinery, Mustapha Sugungun, took the minister and his team round the plant
The last turn around maintenance on the refinery, according to official sources, was carried out about 15 years ago.
However, with the progress made so far by the contractor handling the rehabilitation work, the petroleum minister was optimistic that the refinery will come back to life by end of 2024. This optimism was also shared by the NNPCL boss.
