Full List Of Functional And Non-functional Refineries In Nigeria

Some weeks back, the $18.5 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, which was commissioned on Monday, May 22, 2023, finally commenced production seven months after it was inaugurated with pomp and circumstance in Lagos.

The refinery, which is the biggest in Africa, is expected to earn Nigeria foreign exchange savings between $25bn and $30bn yearly.

Considering that the country’s oil refining industry has been dead for decades, this development somewhat revived hope that other refineries might tread the same path.

At the moment, Nigeria has seven oil refineries, with only one of them working fully, and that is the Dangote refinery.

Below are the  seven refineries in Nigeria,

Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KPRC)

The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KPRC) was commissioned in 1980 with the mandate to supply crude oil products to consumers in Northern Nigeria, and more than four decades after the refinery has not been utilised.

The refinery had a capacity of 50,000 bpd (barrels per day) at launch, but the capacity was extended to 100,000 bpd in 1983 and 110,000 in 1986.

Port Harcourt Refinery

Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) is one of the four major oil refineries in Nigeria, however, it has failed to produce a single drop of petrol over the past ten years.

Port Harcourt Refining Company, is two oil refining companies in one, conveniently named the old and new refineries respectively.

The old refinery, which is the oldest in Nigeria, was established in 1965 as the Alesa-Eleme Refining Company, while, the new refinery began operations in 1988 with a mandate to produce petroleum products for export.

The old refinery has a capacity of 60,000 bpd, but the new one dwarfs that significantly with a quoted capacity of 150,000 bpd.

Dangote Refinery

The Dangote Refinery is Africa’s biggest refinery.

Dangote revealed plans for an oil refining operation back in 2013, with a proposed timeline that would see it begin operation in 2016.

Years after, the refinery finally started production in January 2024.

Warri Refinery

Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited is the fourth of the four big oil refineries in Nigeria,

It was commissioned in 1978, and was launched with a capacity of 125,000 bpd, but now outputs exactly 0 barrels per year.

Azikel Refinery

Azikel Group, through its Azikel Refinery, aims to establish a refining plant in Nigeria to meet the country’s increasing oil demand. Its projected capacity is 12,000 barrels per day.

The project’s proposed location is Yenagoa in Bayelsa State.

Ogbele Refinery

Ogbele Refinery is a modular refinery in Rivers State, owned and operated by Aradel Holdings, with a capacity of 1,000 bpd.

Waltersmith Refinery

The Waltersmith refinery is located in Imo state.

The African refinery project is being developed in phases by Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of Nigeria-based Waltersmith Petromen Oil.

The phase one refinery development with an initial capacity of 5,000 barrels of crude oil a day (bpd) started operations in November 2020.