M a r k e t N e w s
Refining capacity in Nigeria, lower than other African countries – Report
Posted on : Friday, 10th October 2014
Nigeria, despite its status as Africa’s top crude oil producer and exporter, continues to trail other African countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Libya and South Africa in terms of refining capacity reports The Punch.
The World Oil and Gas Review 2014, released this week, shows Egypt as having the highest primary refining capacity in 2013 among the five countries, followed by Algeria and South Africa.
Primary capacity in Egypt was put at 840,000 barrels per day, in Algeria 607,000 bpd, South Africa 520,000 bpd and Libya 380,000 bpd.
In Nigeria, primary capacity was 342,000 bpd last year, as against 345,000 in 2005, according to the report.
The country’s four refineries operated at an average of 10.46 per cent of their combined nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day in June, data from the latest monthly report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation showed.
According to the data, 244,000 metric tons of dry crude oil, condensate and slop was received by the three refineries, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Port Harcourt Refining Company and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.
Kaduna refinery in the month had total available crude oil of 169,301 mt, but nothing was processed. Out of 289,852 mt, the Port Harcourt refinery processed 152,889 mt, while Warri processed 68,098 mt out of 213,352 mt.
The country’s refineries have long been operating well below installed capacity as they are in different states of disrepair. They operated at an average of 31.1 per cent capacity in 2012, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Nigeria is arguably the biggest importer of refined petroleum products on the continent, creating a lucrative market for refineries particularly in Europe and the United States.
The country, which is home to over 170 million people, imports more than 80 per cent of its refined petroleum products for the servicing of its economy.
Source : energy mix report
