Oil marketers have started loading Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), and Kerosene from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Dealers confirmed this to Sunday PUNCH on Friday, as they demanded Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the recently rehabilitated plant.

WRPC, under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, came on stream on December 30, 2024, after the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced its resumption of operations during a tour of the facility.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on Friday at the refinery, the Chairman of the Delta State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Harry Okenini, said though the plant was working, it was not at 100 per cent functionality.


He, however, pointed out that marketers had started lifting diesel and kerosene from the refinery.

“Right now, there is no production of petrol. So, we are not loading PMS. We hope to load PMS soon. We can confirm to you that the plant is working although not at 100 per cent. And IPMAN, Warri Depot Unit, is waiting for the production of PMS so that we can load.

“For now, only the Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, and Dual Purpose Kerosene are being produced and loaded out for consumption.

“Hopefully, by February, we are expecting cooking gas, PMS, and other products to come out. As of now, the retail unit is only loading AGO and DPK,” he added.

Also speaking with our correspondents at the refinery, the National Chairman of the Surface Tank and Kerosene Peddlers, a branch of NUPENG, Israel Omokere, stated that the refinery was in operation.

He said, “Hopefully the PMS will come on board. We are loading kerosene and AGO for now.”


On his part, the Delta State Chairman of Surface Tank and Kerosene Peddlers branch of NUPENG, Kingsley Erituoyo, said, “For so many years the refinery was down, today the refinery is up.

Findings at the Warri refinery by our correspondents showed scanty movement of trucks in and out of the complex.

Sunday PUNCH observed that skeletal activities were ongoing at the WRPC, compared with the heyday of the refinery when the company was working at full capacity.

Industry sources disclosed that there was more to be put in place by the Federal Government and the NNPCL for the refinery to commence full production of PMS.


During the visit to the WRPC complex, it was also observed that the main entrance to the refinery looked almost as if nothing was going on.

Security operatives at the gate stopped journalists from taking photographs on the premises.

Sources inside the refinery said only one of three units of the refinery was functional and producing diesel, gas, and kerosene.

“For now, only one unit is working at the refinery. You know there are three units; but only one is in operation, producing diesel, gas, and kerosene.

“The unit can’t give fuel for now. If the second unit starts working, it can produce PMS. It is the last unit to operate because it’s very big and complicated.

“If all units are working, we can load over 100 trucks daily, now it loaded about 50 trucks,” a source said.

Celestialsword:
They are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, those docile refinery workers will now be active on their duty post.

Xwizard:

Looool how much is fuel now, 70 naira per liter ?

ogododo:



https://punchng.com/warri-refinery-marketers-eye-loading-of-petrol-february/

Autobiography:

This "on again, off again" refinery.... I just don't understand what that Kyari guy is doing with all the money given to him. I smell another emefiele in the making. Make him first drop from the seat.

ogododo:



https://punchng.com/warri-refinery-marketers-eye-loading-of-petrol-february/

stunnert:
The price of petrol will definitely go down in the coming months

ogododo:



https://punchng.com/warri-refinery-marketers-eye-loading-of-petrol-february/

Bosman17:
The problem is most Nigerians don’t understand what the challenge is… why has exchange rate gone up? It’s because we have stopped using our external reserves to defend Naira, so Naira can find its true value, we are a consuming nation. So when a bottle of Hennessy is purchased, it’s subsidised and same for all imported products. This has made imported things cheaper than locally made ones; rice and cement for example.
What are the benefits of allowing Naira to find its true value?
1. No more racketeering. Recently 1k CBN staffs left voluntarily, no more dollar to resell. The CBN rate is same with black market.
2. Local manufacturers are encouraged as there is no way imported products would be cheaper.
3. The loss on foreign reserve is preserved.

Things will certainly improved, it’s obvious the North don’t want the nation to develop, they are used to free money at the detriment of our collective growth.

eldoradoxx:
My conclusion is that this is not a coincidence, that Nigeria was not refining petrol locally all this while was deliberately orchestrated by the criminal gangs in the oil and gas industry. How come immediately Dangote's refinery began refining crude locally, within three months all Government refineries that were hitherto moribund are beginning to produce? It was deliberate, they saw that removal of subsidy by Tinubu and Dangote's refinery coming into production had dealt a big blow on their cruel business against the Nigerian people including smuggling of subsidized Petroleum Products. I give kudo to Tinubu on this, if he had not removed subsidy, nothing would have happened, Dangote would never have agreed to go into production, NNPC refineries would never have also come on board. It is the beauty of deregulation we talked about.