The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, with combined capacity of 235,000 barrels per day, produced nothing in September, the Nigerian National Petroleum Resources has said.
With an opening stock of 253.26 thousand metric tonnes, total crude oil available for processing was 253.26 thousand mt, out of which 74.64 thousand metric tonnes was processed by the Port Harcourt Refining Company, the corporation said in its latest monthly report.
“This month (September), zero (0.00) mt of dry crude oil, condensate and slop was received by the three refineries, KRPC, PHRC and WRPC. The respective average capacity utilisation during the month was 0.00 per cent, 8.77 per cent and 0.00 per cent for KRPC, PHRC and WRPC respectively,” according to the report.
The Deputy Executive Director, Africa Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, Mr. Leo Atakpu, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said, “Refineries are in comatose state such that we have to be importing fuel. It is a shame that we are importing petrol and others.
“The political leadership has not done anything pointedly to address this issue over the years. Though it did not start with this administration, but we all expected it to take drastic steps to bring about positive change such that the people will begin to feel the impact,” he said.
In August, output from the country’s refineries dropped to 294,000 mt as they operated at an average of 16 per cent of their combined nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day. The respective average capacity utilisation for KRPC, PHRC and WRPC during the month was 21.68 per cent, 15.79 per cent and 10.94 per cent respectively.
In July, when the refineries operated at 22 per cent of their installed capacity, output was 334,000 mt. The average capacity utilisation for KRPC, PHRC and WRPC in the month was 19.40 per cent, 0.00 per cent and 46.71 per cent, respectively.
In June, the refineries operated at 10 per cent of their installed capacity, with average capacity utilisation of 0.00 per cent, 17.96 per cent and 13.44 per cent respectively.
The country’s refineries have long been operating well below installed capacity as they are in different states of disrepair. They operated at an average of 31.1 per cent capacity in 2012, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil producer, is arguably the biggest importer of refined petroleum products on the continent, creating a lucrative market for refiners in the United States, Europe and other African countries such as Cameroun and Cote d’Ivoire.
