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Update: Tinubu welcomes the reopening of the Warri Refinery, strengthening Nigerians’ hope in his administration, says Onanuga

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… Domestic refiners would be forced to reduce Prices – Marketers

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.

The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mustapha Zarma, said the competition in the downstream oil sector is now going to intensify.

This, he said, is going to force down refined petroleum products’ prices.

He said, “Certainly, there is going to be a further drop in prices once the facility starts pumping out products in large volumes. This is because there is going to be a lot of competition and the market will be driven by market forces at the end of the day.

“We want to commend the efforts of the government and NNPC for making sure that the Warri refinery has started operating, and we encourage them to make sure all three refineries operate. Port Harcourt refinery earlier started operations, now Warri has started and we expect Kaduna to follow.

“With this development, we believe that the market will be driven by a lot of competition. And that competition at the end of the day will bring succour to the common man as a result of the further drop in fuel prices.”

Also, the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Ahmed Farouk, speaking at the tour of the plant, said the new refinery wiould drive down the price of petroleum products in Nigeria.

He added that investors were building modular refineries which would benefit Nigerians.

“We thank God Almighty for yet another milestone. It’s been a very pleasing year 2024. We have seen our plants coming up. Last month, we commissioned the Port Harcourt refinery. Before that, the Dangote refinery was producing. Now we are in Warri refinery Area One, which we understand is producing products like naphtha, fuel oil, and AGO. And by the time the second part of it comes on, it will start producing petrol. We can still blend naphtha for the gasoline but when the other plants come on, it will be producing gasoline directly.

“It is important to note that this achievement is being enjoyed by the Nigerian public. For the first time in more than two decades, we are having the Yuletide without fuel queues and fuel all over the country. This is due to the determination of President Bola Tinubu to push the regulator and NNPC to come onstream.

“Investors are also coming in. We now have modular refineries around the country, and they are producing gasoline and kerosene. We only have to consolidate all of these to reflect on the pricing, which we expect to still come down. The regulator intends that prices should come down with the abundance of products available across the country for the betterment of the consumer,” Farouk said.

The NMDPRA boss continued, “We can see what some people termed as a price war; it’s not a price war but a competition for the market share. Both refineries are coming on and the importation of fuel to supplement whatever we have locally. We would now have the barometer to measure the price, and we believe that the price will still come down. And this is due to the abundance and availability of the product all across the country.

“I must also commend the NNPCL for their determination to ensure that the plants are already on stream and they are already working on the Kaduna refinery. This is an achievement for our country and we should not take it lightly. Our energy security is improving and it would reflect on the economy.”

Also on his part, the Secretary of IPMAN, Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, stated that aside from reducing the prices of refined products, the commencement of operations of the Warri refinery would cushion the dollar demand for fuel imports.

He said, “Nigerians are happy and we marketers are too, because I know that with this development, the prices of refined products in Nigeria will continue to go down. Remember the President directed that crude be sold to the Dangote refinery in naira, which was a good sign of hope for the common man.

“As it is now, the demand for dollars to import products will continue to drop and this will positively impact our foreign exchange reserves. So we are happy that the Warri refinery is now on stream, after the commencement of operations at Port Harcourt refinery. We pray that Kaduna will also begin operations soon.

“Once all the refineries begin operations, you can imagine the level of competition that will take place in the downstream oil sector. In a country with five refineries, one by Dangote and four by NNPC, the competition will be heavy and the prices of products will crash.”

NNPCL confirms Warri refinery fire incident
The Warri refinery has been under rehabilitation since 2021 for $898m. Located in Ekpan, Uwvie, and Ubeji, Warri, the petrochemical plant produces 13,000 metric tonnes per annum of polypropylene and 18,000 MTA of carbon black.

Inaugurated in 1978 and managed by NNPCL, the WRPC was built to supply markets in the southern and southwestern regions of Nigeria.

The mechanical completion of the facility was initially scheduled for the first quarter of 2024, according to the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

“Warri should be done by Q1 (first quarter) 2024,” Soneye stated.

The WRPC is one of Nigeria’s four refineries, alongside the old and new Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company in Kaduna State.

The revamp offers a significant boost to a nation aiming to reduce its dependence on costly fuel imports.

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.

The coming onstream of the Dangote refinery dragged the price of petrol to N935 per litre after a consistent price surge by the national oil firm.

The development came after intense pricing competition in the nation’s downstream sector, which triggered what some observers tagged a price war between NNPCL and Dangote due to a reduction in the ex-depot price to N899 per litre.

Recently, the NNPCL, in a surprising development, slashed petrol prices by 12 per cent, to the delight of Nigerians and marketers.

While fuel importation has not completely stopped, ramping up domestic production could cut foreign exchange demand by at least 15 per cent, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Speaking further at the tour on Monday, the NNPCL board chairman thanked the refinery staff for their efforts in achieving the milestone.

He also stated that the country would soon stop the importation of refined petroleum products.

He said, “Today is a very happy day for us at the NNPCL for witnessing those milestones where we have proven that we can produce AGO, naphtha, kerosene, and other products. I thank the refinery employees who have joined the management in Warri to get to this point.

“Nigerians are waiting for products that they need, and very soon imported refined petroleum products will be a thing of the past. We will start exporting. More refineries are coming up and they should be encouraged. The more we can build and export it will help the value of our naira. One more time I want to thank our regulatory authority for finding time to be here, the GCEO for his unrelenting efforts to make all our refineries work.”

President Tinubu expressed his profound joy at the re-opening of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company by the NNPCL.

He described the development as “another remarkable achievement in 2024 that has strengthened Nigerians’ hope in his administration.” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement on Monday.

The statement was titled ‘President Tinubu commends NNPCL over the re-opening of Warri refinery.’

“Today, the Warri Refinery returned to operation weeks after NNPC Limited restarted the 60,000 barrels per day at the Port Harcourt Refinery in November.

“With Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company going into operation after several years of inactivity, President Tinubu has once again expressed his administration’s determination to ramp up local refining capacity and make Nigeria a hub for downstream industrial activities in Africa,” the statement read.

The All Progressives Congress-led administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari awarded the contract for the complete rehabilitation and overhaul of the four state-owned refineries.

President Tinubu noted with confidence that with the 125,000 bpd Warri refinery now operating at 60 per cent capacity, his administration’s comprehensive plan to ensure energy efficiency and security is entirely on course.

He praised the Mele Kyari-led management of the NNPCL for working hard to restore Nigeria’s glory and pride as a major oil-producing country.

“The restart of Warri Refinery today brings joy and gladness to me and Nigerians. This will further strengthen the hope and confidence of Nigerians for a greater and better future that we promised.

“This development is a remarkable way to end the year following the feat recorded earlier with the old Port Harcourt Refinery. I am equally happy that NNPC Limited is implementing my directive to restore all four refineries to good working condition.

“I congratulate Mele Kyari and his team at NNPCL for working hard to restore our national pride and make Nigeria a hub for crude oil refining in Africa,” President Tinubu said.

President Tinubu enjoined NNPCL to accelerate repair work on Kaduna Refinery and the 150,000 bpd second refinery in Port Harcourt to consolidate Nigeria’s position as a global energy provider.

WRPC will focus on producing and storing critical products, including Straight Run Kerosene, Automotive Gas Oil and heavy and light Naphtha.

The WRPC located in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, was commissioned in 1978 as the nation’s first wholly owned refinery.

Originally designed to process 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, it was later upgraded in 1987 to handle 125,000 barrels per day.

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Breaking: Universities adopt 150 as cut-off mark for 2025/2026 admission and sets admission age at 16, Says Alausa

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Vice Chancellors of Universities in the country have adopted 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for 2025/2026 admission.

The decision was reached in a voice vote supervised by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, on Tuesday at the ongoing policy meeting on admission in Abuja.

At the meeting, the minimum cut-off point for admission into polytechnics was pegged at 100, while the colleges of education and agriculture adopted 100 as the entry point.

Colleges of nursing adopted 140 as the entry point for admission

The Federal Government has formally set 16 years as the minimum age for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced this on Tuesday during the 2025 Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board held in Abuja.

Alausa, while declaring the meeting open, emphasised that the age benchmark is now official and non-negotiable. He warned that any admission carried out outside the Central Admissions Processing System would be considered illegal.

The minister further stated that heads of institutions found culpable of admission fraud or circumventing CAPS would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

The annual policy meeting sets guidelines for the conduct of admissions into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the coming academic session

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“We’re Removing All Bottlenecks To Improve Food And Agric Production In Nigeria, Says Tinubu To Brazilian Leader”

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President Bola Tinubu on Saturday assured his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, that he is working to remove all bottlenecks hindering Nigeria’s agric sector boom, especially bureaucracy, which he said contributes to delays in realising the sector’s potential.

He said this will enable food sovereignty and export for the country in areas such as livestock production.

Tinubu said this in a bilateral meeting held at the Copacabana Forte with the Brazilian president and some members of both countries’ cabinets.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed Saturday night titled ‘We’re Removing All Bottlenecks To Improve Food And Agric Production In Nigeria, Says President Tinubu To Brazilian Leader.’

“The President informed the Brazilian leader and delegation that Nigeria was already undergoing reforms to reposition the economy for global competitiveness, particularly in agriculture, where it already has a competitive advantage.

“Tinubu stated that all technicalities in agreements between the two countries will be streamlined and fast-tracked in trade, aviation, energy transition, food and agricultural development, mining, and natural resources exploration”, the statement partly read.

He added that Brazil’s research and development services had been exemplary for most countries, with the country rated as one of the highest producers of food and agricultural products.

“On livestock farming, Tinubu highlighted the efforts of his administration to boost investments in poultry, cattle rearing, and fisheries, adding that the blue economy also holds potential for long-term partnerships between Nigeria and Brazil. He argued that Nigeria was ready for a strong partnership and immediate action to stimulate food production.

“The President said the subnationals have a pivotal role in food and animal production in Nigeria by complementing the federal government’s efforts to use agriculture as a significant source of employment and resource mobilisation. Lula assured that all agreements with Nigeria would be regularised, and the MOUs would be updated and signed without delay during President Tinubu’s next visit.

“He noted that the lingering bureaucracy between the two countries must be removed to achieve quick results, adding that Brazil’s research and development institutions will collaborate with Nigeria to enhance livestock farming. The Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, revealed that Tinubu had consistently insisted on food security for Nigeria, and the mandate would be actualised through local and global partnerships. He added that Nigeria already had a competitive advantage in fertiliser production that could easily be enhanced, “he said.

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, highlighted three areas of partnership with Brazil, including health and disease management, sanitary services, and research into genetic materials and new breeds.

The governors of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia; Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago; Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori; and Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, attended the bilateral meeting.

The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, said that the sub-nationals would support the federal government’s framework to revamp the agricultural sector.

Abiodun noted that both leaders’ decision to include a business forum during President Tinubu’s state visit to the country will inject fresh ideas and resources, enabling quick results in turning around Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, also participated in the bilateral meeting.

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BREAKING: Tinubu signs Tax Reform bills into law

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the four tax reform bills into law.

President Tinubu signed the law in his office at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday, in the presence of relevant stakeholders from across the arms of government.

The new laws include the Nigerian Tax Law, the Nigerian Tax Administration Law, the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Law and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Law.

Earlier on Thursday, President Tinubu had explained that the laws would be unifying Nigeria’s fragmented tax system, removing redundant overlaps, boosting investor confidence, enhancing transparency, and promoting coordinated efforts across all levels.

He also described the legislation as a clear departure from previous policies, emphasising that the reforms are designed to ease the burden on working families, small businesses, and low-income earners while eliminating inefficiencies that have long plagued Nigeria’s fiscal structure.

On his verified X handle @officialABAT, the President had said that the new tax laws form the groundwork for the Nigeria of tomorrow, focused on unlocking opportunities for all.

 

“We are also building a framework for the Nigeria of tomorrow-leaner, fairer and laser-focused on unlocking opportunities for all.”

 

The Nigerian Leader explained that with the new tax reform laws, the Bola Tinubu-led Administration is now laying the foundation for a tax regime that is fair, transparent and fit for a modern, ambitious Nigeria.

“These reforms go beyond streamlining tax codes. They deliver the first major, pro-people tax cuts in a generation, targeted relief for low-income earners, small businesses, and families working hard to make ends meet.

“For too long, our tax system has been a patchwork-complex, inequitable, and burdensome. It has weighed down the vulnerable and shielded inefficiency. That era ends today.

“We are laying a foundation for a tax regime that is fair, transparent and fit for a modern, ambitious Nigeria. A tax regime that rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and mobilises revenue without punishing productivity”, he said.

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