The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) signed an agreement with Daewoo Engineering & Construction Nigeria Limited on Thursday for the rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery & Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
The signing of the agreement took place at the NNPC headquarters in Abuja.
“NNPCLimited’s Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Ltd (KRPC) & Daewoo Engineering & Construction Nigeria Ltd. signed a contract for maintenance services for quick-fix repairs of KRPC,” the oil firm said on its official Twitter page.
The agreement comes after NNPC signed a memorandum of understanding with Daewoo Group of South Korea last October, on the sidelines of the 2022 World Bio Summit in Seoul, for the rehabilitation of the refinery.
The 110,000 bpd-capacity Kaduna Refinery is one of Nigeria’s four dysfunctional refineries that have produced no fuel for years, leaving the country to rely on imported petroleum products.
The NNPC Executive Vice President, Downstream, Adeyemi Adetunji, spoke at the signing of the agreement, “This marks a milestone in the history of KRPC considering that the last Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) on the refinery occurred about fifteen (15) years ago.”
He noted that the project was framed after extensive engagement with Daewoo on the quick-fix strategy to repair and re-stream KRPC and operate it on a sustainable basis at a minimum capacity utilization of 60 per cent.
“This project shall be executed in three work packages as a Maintenance Services contract by Daewoo E&C Nigeria Limited at an estimated maximum cost ceiling of $740,669,600.00 with a duration of Twenty-One (21) months. The quick-fix strategy guarantees the fastest route to restreaming Warri Refinery Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and KRPC for in-country production of refined petroleum products.”
Adetunji explained that restoring KRPC and WRPC back to operation will guarantee energy security for the country and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
“The proposed quick-fix initiative on KRPC is expected to restore it to a minimum of 60 per cent of its nameplate capacity by Q4 2024,” he said.
He added that NNPC is using a combination of internally generated revenue and third-party financing to execute the repairs of the refineries.
“Post-rehabilitation of the three refineries, globally reputable operations and maintenance contractors shall be engaged to run the refinery safely, reliably, sustainably and profitably.”
Adetunji implored total commitment from all staff in ensuring the project’s successful execution, “Over 200 million Nigerians are looking up to NNPC Limited to deliver on the mandate.”
He said the board and management of NNPC Limited are fully committed to providing all the required support to ensure that the refineries are fixed.
Regarding the Port Harcourt refinery, Adetunji said, “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 currently 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 re-streamed by the end of this year.”
