The Kaduna Refinery is expected to resume refining of crude oil by “mid-April” according to the head of the upstream division of the NNPC.
“By the end of next week we will be ready to start receiving the crude oil,” said Bello Rabiu, group executive director of upstream, during a tour of the Kaduna refinery.
“If crude comes and we actually get everything ready, we believe by the middle of this month everything will be running in the refinery,”
The refinery along with Port Harcourtand Warri stopped refining crude after the NNPC halted supply of crude to all three refineries after its pipelines were attacked.
Last January, unidentified gunmen bombed some oil and gas facilities in Gbaramatu, allegedly in protest over the reported arrest warrant issued on the former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo). No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Tompolo had also claimed ignorance of the attack.
Kaduna Refinery had resumed production last December producing 110bpd of crude, while the Warri Refinery which resumed production in November, produces 125,000 bpd.