Warri refinery now operational, doing 125,000bpd – NNPCL boss

Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) in Delta State has commenced production after a major rehabilitation of the facility.

Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed this on Monday.

Kyari said the refinery is not fully completed but is producing 125,000 barrels per day.

He spoke to journalists during a tour of the facility on Monday, attended by key stakeholders.

The announcement is coming about a month after the old Port Harcourt refinery idle for five years resumed full operations, producing petrol, kerosene and diesel.

There are also expectations that the other state-owned Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) currently undergoing rehabilitation would bounce back soon.

The NNPCL in April promised restore the Kaduna refinery to 60 percent of its production capacity by the end of this year.

Real reason Dangote, NNPC drop petrol price — IPMAN

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has attributed the fierce competition between Nigeria’s two refineries owned by Dangote and NNPC Limited for the recent drop in the pump price of premium motor spirit, PMS, also known as petrol.

Checks by Vanguard yesterday showed that most petrol retail outlets have reduced their pump prices in response to a drop in ex-depot prices by Dangote Refinery and the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Findings showed that while NNPC Retail reduced its price from N1,030 to N965 per litre, other retailers, such as AA Rano and AYM Sharfa, dropped their pump price from N1,070 to N1,020 per litre.
However, despite these reductions, it was observed that pump price at Conoil remained at N1,090 per litre, the same as it was in November.

Speaking to Vanguard, Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said competition between the local refineries and the smooth flow of the product have resulted in the reduction in prices.

He said: “It is a good development for independent marketers and for consumers too. Now, because of increased demand, price normally goes up during this period but right now the opposite is the case. ‘’Availability has been taken care of and we are now seeing price war among the gladiators, NNPC and Dangote.

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“By next year when the Warri and Kaduna refineries are expected to come onstream, things will even be more interesting”.

Ukadike noted that independent marketers were now able to buy directly from both refineries because “there is a slight increase in turnover. When the price was around N1,300/litre most of our members barely sold 5,000 litres daily but we are doing far better than this.

“We are also now able to get products directly. NNPC portal is open now for marketers to take as much product as they want. Dangote has also heeded our call and reduced the volume for bulk purchase eligibility.

“Initially it was limited to 10 million litres but now they sell at two million litres which is about N2 billion. This is more bearable for independent marketers who are now able to come together to place orders for the product.’’

There were indications that the coming on stream of the Port Harcourt Refinery and Dangote Petroleum Refinery would impact Nigeria’s foreign exchange rate in 2025.

The old Port Harcourt refinery and Dangote Petroleum refinery have the capacity to process 560,000 barrels per day, bpd and 60,000 bpd of crude oil respectively.

Before the coming on stream of the two refineries, Nigeria used to depend on the international market for its petroleum products.

However, the Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, who expressed the optimism in his Outlook, yesterday, said: “The Import substitution effect of the Dangote and Port Harcourt refineries with the consequential easing of demand pressure on the forex market.”

Marketers adjust pump prices

Meanwhile, checks by Vanguard, weekend indicated that oil marketers continued to adjust pump prices following the provision of new ex-depot prices by both NNPCL and Dangote Refinery at N899 per litre and N899.50 per litre, respectively, last week.

Further checks by Vanguard showed that both NNPCL and MRS filling stations involved in marketing Dangote Petroleum Refinery have started adjusting the pump prices.

Real reason Dangote, NNPC drop petrol price — IPMAN

Coscharis Motors clinches Nigeria’s Multi-Luxury Company Award as Range Rover Autobiography emerges Luxury SUV

It is a double honour for Coscharis Motors Plc, one of the subsidiaries of the respected conglomerate, Coscharis Group, as it was declared Multi-Luxury Company of the Year and one of its iconic luxury brands, Range Rover Autobiography, was adjudged the Nigeria’s Luxury SUV of the Year at the 2024 edition of the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association Awards.

The well attended event was held recently at the prestigious Oriental Hotels, Lagos.

Coscharis Motors, a household name in topnotch globally respected luxury automobile brands in Nigeria, has been the exclusive representative of the British iconic luxury brand of the Jaguar Land Rover and the German pride in the luxury segment of the BMW brand over many decades.

The company in 2023 added another new luxury brand from United Kingdom into the Nigeria market which is the Grenadier from the Ineos group in UK. The Grenadier is a brand new product globally which is equally being represented in Nigeria by Coscharis Motors as a new addition to its existing ‘House of luxury’ when it comes to automobile of repute.

The luxury SUV category was keenly contested with other tested luxury brands but the Range Rover Autobiography came tops, according to the organizers, after strong consideration of the market acceptance of the Autobiography in all ramifications.

The All New Range Rover Autobiography variant is revolutionary, reliable and a class on its own with its special appeal, style that resonates with its priority audience when it comes to luxury, class, comfort and performance.

Receiving the award on behalf of Coscharis Motors, the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Mr. Abiona Babarinde, dedicated the award to all the Coscharis Motors customers, especially the luxury brand enthusiasts for their acceptability of all the luxury brands in the Portfolio namely the Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and the new Grenadier respectively as their preferred luxury automobile of choice.

He said, “These awards only reconfirm our expertise in delivering top notch luxury experience to our premium customers while maintaining the global standard of brand positioning to discerning customers in the ever dynamic Nigerian market.

“Representing these globally respected iconic brands over the years exclusively in Nigeria involves consistent delivering of value for money that involves the total luxury experience from the point of brand awareness to the purchase stage and the aftersales service experience to deliver the peace of mind required.”

Group Managing Director of Coscharis Motors Plc, Mr. Josiah Samuel, also dedicated the awards to the company’s ever loyal customers for their patronage and acceptance of the brands with a promise to continually create more value in the automobile industry in Nigeria.

He said, “There can’t be another best way to end the business year in 2024 than with these set of prestigious awards despite all the business challenges in the year and more importantly that the awards are coming from a very critical stakeholder / partner like the media.”

The award event attracted various stakeholders that are players in the automotive sector in Nigeria.