The Warri Refining & Petrochemicals Company Limited (WRPC) is situated in

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

, within

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and began operations in 1978. This facility is a sophisticated conversion

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

, boasting a distillation capacity of 6,250,000 metric tons annually (equivalent to 125,000 barrels per day). In addition to the

, the complex features a petrochemical plant that was established in 1988, with production capabilities of 13,000 metric tons per year for polypropylene and 18,000 metric tons per year for carbon black. The refinery primarily serves the markets in Nigeria's southern and southwestern regions.

Geography and Location

The Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) is situated within the Ubeji community of

Warri South Warri South is a Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the city of Warri. It has an important sea port in the country and is the commercial nerve centre of the state, With Dr. Tidi Michael as the current local go ...

Local Government Area (LGA) and the Ekpan community of Uvwie LGA, in Delta State, Nigeria. The facility's geographical coordinates are 5°32′N latitude and 5°41′E longitude. The

is bounded to the north by the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), a major natural gas processing and transmission company.

Host Communities

The Warri refinery is hosted by four

Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit Nigeria's Niger Delta area. They speak a Yoruboid languages, Yoruboid language and can be found in Ondo State, Ondo ...

communities: Aja-Etan, Ubeji, Ifie-Kporo, and Ijalla-Ikenren, all located in the

Local Government Area (LGA). Additionally, it is also hosted by one Urhobo community, the Ekpan community, which is part of the Uvwie LGA.

Primary Plant Facilities

The company operates several fuel and petrochemical facilities, which include: * NHU – Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit * KHU – Kerosene Hydrotreating Unit * FCC – Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit * HF Alkylation Unit * Polypropylene Production Unit * Carbon Black Production Unit

Supporting Utilities

The

is equipped with all necessary utilities for its operations, featuring the following installed capacities:

Power

The facility boasts a total electric power generation capacity of 125 MW.

Steam

The power plant is capable of producing high-pressure steam at a rate of 545 T/Hr, utilizing three boilers, two heat recovery units, and a CO boiler within the FCC unit.

Nitrogen

A nitrogen plant with a capacity of 1,600 NM³/Hr is available, along with a compressed air system.

Water Treatment

There is a potable water treatment facility on-site.

Wastewater Management

The wastewater treatment plant has recently undergone upgrades and rehabilitation.

Crude Oil Storage

The refinery has a crude oil storage capacity of 273,600 M³, which is adequate for approximately 14 days of operation.

Crude Oil Supply

Crude oil is supplied to the WRPC from Escravos, located about 80 km from the refinery.

Jetty Facilities

The jetty is equipped for the import and export of fuel oil, diesel, and PMS, as well as for ethylene import and storage.

Truck Loading

There are facilities for loading products onto trucks for distribution.

Railroad

A modern railroad system is in place for efficient product evacuation.

Operational Capacity and Performance

The Refinery is designed with a processing capacity of 125,000 barrels per day (B/D). Despite this significant capacity, the facility has historically struggled to achieve full utilization. Production levels have experienced a consistent decline over the years, with the exception of a brief period in the early 1990s, during which production saw a temporary increase. Several key factors contribute to the refinery's inefficient operations. Addressing these issues is crucial for optimizing the refinery's performance and ensuring that it operates at its full potential. Among the proposed solutions is the refurbishment of the existing utilities within the plant. This upgrade aims to enhance their functionality and ensure they meet the operational demands of the refinery.

Recent Developments

In August 2023, the Nigerian government assured that the Port Harcourt refinery, which had been moribound for several decades, would become functional by December 2023, with Warri coming online by the end of Q1 2024 and Kaduna towards the end of 2024. Recently, a turnaround maintenance initiative was reported completed in 2024 and was anticipated to significantly improve the refinery's overall performance. This maintenance is expected to enhance both throughput volume and product yield, positioning the refinery for better operational efficiency in the future. However, the facility was again shuttered in January 2025. No timeline or scope provided for the shutdown following the latest round of repair costing $1B.

Critiques

Since about 2013, the government has reported spending over $27billion trying to fix its three “moribund” refineries which remain not operating. Meanwhile, the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Petroleum Refinery was set up with about $20 billion and is already operating (compared to at least $28B spent on repairing the combined refining capacity of 445,000 bpd of NNPC assets ).https://thenationonlineng.net/its-time-for-nnpcl-to-let-go/ See also: # Port Harcourt Refining Company # Kaduna Refinery # Dangote Refinery

References

{{reflist Nigerian companies established in 1978 Warri