The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said Warri and Kaduna refineries will be revamped in the first half of next year.
Sylva said on Monday in Lagos that the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery was ongoing.
The nation’s refineries have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day but have continued to operate far below the installed capacity for many years.
“Refurbishment of the existing refineries to achieve full capacity operations shall be fast-tracked: (Port Harcourt ongoing, others to follow by Q1 and Q2 2020),” the minister said at the 13th Oil Trading and Logistics Africa Downstream Week.
He said working with the private sector to aggressively increase domestic refinery capacity would be paramount.
The minister, who was represented by his Senior Technical Adviser and Chief of Staff, Mr Moses Olamide, said, “In order to have a robust, investor-friendly and stable downstream petroleum sector, the government is currently finalising clearer and more transparent regulatory framework with well-delineated activities to support the rapid infrastructural development in the sector including new refining capacities emerging in the country.”
He said the government would aggressively promote the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which would engender a focused regulatory agency, regulated tariff and open access to pipeline and terminals, and introduction of transportation network code, among others.
According to Sylva, appropriate framework is being built to encourage public-private partnership in the downstream sector, especially in the areas of fixing and expansion of existing pipeline infrastructure and depots.
He said flare gas commercialisation would be aggressively pursued with foolproof framework.
