Warri Refinery Shutdown: Documents Reveal Facility Has Been Non-Operational Since January 2025
By Abiola Olawale
NNPCL’s $897M Rehabilitation Project Fails to Sustain Operations
Newly uncovered documents have revealed troubling developments at Nigeria’s Warri Refinery, with reports indicating the facility has been non-operational since January 25, 2025. This shutdown occurred just weeks after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced its “full operation” following an extensive $897 million rehabilitation project.
Safety Concerns Force Sudden Shutdown
According to documents obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the 125,000-barrel-per-day refinery was forced to halt operations due to safety concerns related to its Crude Distillation Unit Main Heater. The facility had only resumed operations in December 2024 after more than a decade of inactivity.
“The Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company was shut down on 25th Jan. 2025 due to safety concerns over the CDU Main Heater,” the official document stated.
Production Figures Before Shutdown
The documents reveal the refinery’s limited output before the shutdown:
- December 2024: Produced 1.96 million liters of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and 2.84 million liters of Household Kerosene (HKK)
- January 2025: Produced 10 million liters of AGO and 12 million liters of HKK
NNPCL’s Official Response
NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye had previously described the shutdown as “planned routine maintenance” in a February 2025 statement:
“On January 25, 2025, operations at WRPC Area 1 were intentionally curtailed to carry out necessary intervention works… The routine maintenance is progressing as planned, and will be back in operation within the next few days.”
However, four months after this statement, the refinery remains non-operational, raising questions about Nigeria’s refining capacity and energy security.
For more details, read the original report.