By Ovie Okpare & Emeka Okafor
Barely three weeks after the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) resumed production, the facility has shutdown again, NIGER DELTA TODAY Online can authoritatively report.
Findings revealed the plant came down on 25 January following a loud sound from the Area 1 Plant which, the only plant functioning before the latest development.
It was gathered that the shutting down was kept from the media by management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to avoid public criticism over such announcement.
NNPCL had announced the completion of repairs of the 125,000bpd capacity refinery on December 30, 2024.
The announcement was greeted with excitement from Nigerians who had waited endlessly for the Warri Refinery to commence operation.
However, a source within the NNPCL told one of our correspondents that the plant had been shut down twice since it came on stream last December before the January 25 incident which many described as “minor explosion”.
Another source in Abuja told disclosed that the January 25 incident led to the forceful evacuation staff from Area 1 to prevent casualty.
It was further gathered that the “minor explosion” resulted in fracture and twisting of the piping in 10-H-01 and the fractional distillation column of Area 1 plant which was then producing AGO at the time of the incident.
Experts aware of the development blamed the incident on poor maintenance from the repairs recently carried out at the plant.
“Due to poor maintenance carried out at Warri Refinery (WRPC), it has forced Area 1 of the plant to come down abruptly. The plant has come down 3 times within a month.
“The last one was the one that involves 10-H-01 on 25th Jan. that caused a heavy panic within the environment which made staff and operators run for their dear lives.
“If not for the operator’s immediate intervention, there would have been a serious explosion in wrpc Area 1 Unit.
“Presently, the plant is down undergoing another round of maintenance of damaged parts. In the next few days, the power plant which boost Area 1 will be put off for repair works effectively continue”, one of the sources said.
NNPCL Reacts
When contacted on Friday, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, confirmed that the Warri Refinery was currently down for maintenance after operating for only three weeks.
Soneye, however, clarified that there was no explosion at the Warri Refinery, stressing that “Any reports suggesting otherwise are completely false.”
In a statement issued late Friday after several hours of being contacted by NIGER DELTA TODAY Online, he said, “NNPC Ltd wishes to clarify that there was no explosion at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC). Any reports suggesting otherwise are completely false.
“On January 25, 2025, operations at WRPC Area 1 were intentionally curtailed to carry out necessary intervention works on select equipment, including field instruments that were impacting sustainable and steady operations.
“These intervention works are essential to ensure the production of on-specification finished and intermediate products, particularly Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Kerosene (Kero).
“The routine maintenance is progressing as planned, and Area 1 will be back in operation within the next few days. Despite ongoing interventions, over the past 11 days, AGO loading has been maintained at an average of eight trucks per day, with a sufficient supply available to sustain ongoing truck load-out operations.
“NNPC Ltd remains committed to ensuring uninterrupted product supply and appreciates the patience and cooperation of all stakeholders as it completes these essential maintenance activities.”
