Kaduna Refinery To Begin Operation Month End

THE management of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) yesterday disclosed that the plant would begin refining of crude oil by the end of this month.

The Managing Director of KRPC, Alhaji Saidu Aliyu Mohammed made the revelation while delivering an address at the opening ceremony of the Annual Energy Correspondents Workshop in Kano organised by KRPC officials, which held under the theme — “Development Communication: An Imperative for the Oil and Gas Industry.”

Mohammed said: “Replacement of the weak segments of the pipeline is ongoing. The repair work is expected to be completed on August 27, 2015, and thereafter, crude oil supply to KRPC would resume.”

Mohammed, who was represented by the Executive Director, Services, KRPC, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar, however, lamented that the supply of crude oil to the KRPC was grossly inadequate.

He said: “It is still a major challenge to the sustenance of the plant’s operation and needs to be tackled holistically. The incessant vandalism on Warri-Kaduna pipeline is one of the greatest threats to KRPC’s performance. This line needs to be highly secured to guarantee continuous supply of crude oil to KRPC. We advocate for the pipeline to be regarded as ‘Military Zone’ in view of its strategic importance.

“While the plants were shutdown due to lack of crude oil, the opportunity was exploited to intensify the plant’s rehabilitation. The current ongoing plant rehabilitation is being done in phases. Phase 1 was completed in December 2014 and Phase 2 was concluded in July 2015. We are hoping to commence Phase 3 from September 2015.”