The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Ifeanyi Ubah, has assured that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries will be fully operational by the end of 2024.

He gave the assurance at the ongoing 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.

According to him, plans have already been put in place to achieve the target, adding that the Kaduna Refinery would also be operational before the end of next year.

He said: “My mandate is to ensure that the refineries in Nigeria are up and functional. By my involvement, before the end of this year, two refineries will be up and running.

“Also, before the end of next year, the Kaduna refinery will come on stream. Also, the production of jet oil and lubricant will be produced by mid-next year.

“I can assure Nigerians that I will tirelessly pursue and ensure that these refineries are up and running before the end of the year. We have set up a technical team to visit the refineries every two weeks to meet the set target.”

He explained that the completion of the plants and the addition of supply from the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery would enable the nation to meet its domestic fuel demand.

The Senator also urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to work toward establishing modular refineries to expand further the nation’s domestic capacity to refine crude oil.

Ubah’s assurance comes after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) quoting the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, revealed in October that the Kaduna refinery would be back on stream by the end of 2024.

The 110,000 bpd-capacity Kaduna Refinery is one of Nigeria’s four dysfunctional refineries that have produced no fuel for years, leaving the country to rely on imported petroleum products.

In August 2021, the Federal Executive Council approved the award of the contract for the rehabilitation of Warri and Kaduna Refineries at the combined total sum of $1.5bn.