Oil marketers and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority have said the prices of refined petroleum products are to drop further following the commencement of operations at the Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company Limited.
Dealers in the downstream oil sector said competition in the space would now be stiffer, as domestic refiners would be forced to reduce prices to get buyers.
They stated this on Monday following the announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that the 125,000 barrels per day WRPC in Delta State had commenced operations.
NNPCL also announced plans to begin the export of locally refined products to foreign countries in exchange for foreign currency.
The development comes barely a month after the commencement of operations at the 60,000 barrels per day-old Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State.
During an inspection tour of the facility on Monday, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, explained that the inspection aimed to show Nigerians the level of work completed so far.
Kyari, addressing a tour team, which included the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, and the NNPC Board Chairman, Pius Akinyelure, noted that the repairs on the facility were not yet 100 per cent complete, but refining operations had commenced and would focus on producing straight-run kerosene, diesel, and naphtha.
However, President Bola Tinubu, in a statement celebrating the milestone, said the facility is operating at 60 per cent, representing 75,000 barrels per day capacity.
Kyari said, “We are taking you through our plant. This plant is running. Although it is not 100 per cent 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.”
He stated that the restart of the Warri refinery will help the nation become a net exporter of petroleum products, as some of these products will be sent to the international market.
“Secondly, this plant had three stages; we have started plant one, which we call Area One. It’s able to produce AGO (diesel), kerosene, naphtha, and a blend of crude oil. These are high-grade quality products that are required in the country, and we may need to export them. So this will give us cash, this company will make money and the promise of Mr President that this country must be a net exporter of petroleum products is already happening. Some of these products will go into the international market.
“Most importantly, I must put on record that Mr President believes that we can get this to work and get them to start and gave us the charge that we must start all three refineries. It’s already happening; we have started the 60,000 barrels per day refinery, and Area One of the Warri refinery is already working. Other plants that would produce PMS are being streamed and they would also come alive.
“Lastly, the Kaduna refinery is also on stream. We are not going to give you a date, but we would surprise Nigerians as we did the other day, and Kaduna would start operations. We thank Mr President for supporting us all the way through. I must congratulate our team for their determination and extreme belief that this country can restart this plant. This has brought this result in collaboration with our contractors and our entire staff. I would like to thank them and appreciate them for making history and that it’s possible to start a plant that you deliberately shut down. It’s possible and we have proved it,” he added.
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