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State-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Co. said its second refinery in the southern city of Warri is now running, providing a major boost to a nation seeking to wean itself from expensive fuel imports.
The 125,000 barrels-per-day Warri refinery “is running,” though “we have not completed 100%,” Mele Kyari, the group CEO of NNPC, said at the facility on Monday.
The plant, which has been under rehabilitation since 2021 at a cost of $898 million, is operating at 60% capacity and will focus on producing straight-run kerosene, diesel, and naphtha, the Nigerian presidency said in an emailed statement.
Additional production from the Warri plant moves Africa’s top oil-producing nation closer to becoming self-sufficient in locally consumed refined products following the startup of the giant 650,000-barrels-a-day Dangote refinery in Lagos, which began operations earlier this year.
While fuel importation has not completely stopped, ramping up domestic production could cut foreign exchange demand by at least 15%, according to the central bank.
Last month, the NNPC said production had resumed at its oldest plant, a 60,000 barrels-per-day crude processor in Port Harcourt, which was operating at 70% capacity, while rehabilitation works continue at a third refinery in Kaduna.
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