The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, on Saturday expressed confidence that the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited will be ready by the end of 2024.

The minister, according to a statement on the official X handle of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, spoke while assessing the progress of work on the ongoing quick-fix project of the refinery.

It read, “Lokpobiri said he is confident that the refinery will be restreamed by the end of 2024, considering the ‘significant level of progress’ he has witnessed on the tour.

“The minister, who observed that he would continue to hold key players involved in the rehabilitation process of the nation’s refineries accountable, also pledged federal government support in ensuring the timely delivery of the project.

“According to the Minister, there is an urgent need to get the refinery back on stream for the nation’s economic prosperity and energy security, which are both paths to sustainable development.”

On his part, the group chief executive officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, reiterated the minister’s target, adding that all hands are on deck to bring the refinery back onstream.

Mr Kyari said, “We are very confident that we will get the appropriate financing to get to the end of it, and ultimately, we will start to deliver value to Nigerians again. We plan the quick fix for 60,000 barrels per day so that we can start making money from this plant and continue the other part of the refinery to bring it up to its full-fledged capacity.

“This will also tally with the completion of the Build, Operate, and Transfer on the pipeline so as to have a reliable pipeline delivery infrastructure.”

He added that the contractor has since been mobilised to the site, and the needed equipment for the quick-fix activities is already in place.