Nigeria - Kaduna.

With a capacity of 110,000 b/d, the Kaduna refinery was closed down in late July 1997 due to an accident. Total in late August 1997 won a three-year contract worth about $200m to repair the plant, partly upgrade some of its units, and operate it.

It was agreed that, after the three-year period, if by then local fuel prices had been raised to international market levels, Total may buy equity in the refinery. But NNPC dismissed Total as a contractor in May 1999, claiming that its work was inadequate. The French major said it maintained its contractual obligations and handed the repaired refinery back to NNPC for start-up in January 1999.

Built at N504m, the refinery came on stream in 1980. It is located in the northern Kaduna province, well away from the other three refineries. It is linked to the other refineries by pipeline. One reason why it was built in the north was to reduce the cost of sending fuels to consumers in that area.

Kaduna was the first refinery project in which NNPC's Nigerian engineers were involved from the outset, along with King Wilkingson of the Netherlands. It started up with a capacity of 100,000 b/d, which was raised to 110,000 b/d later.

The Kaduna refinery has a lubricants unit in addition to an FCC unit and a crude distillation facility. The lubricants unit can process heavy oils (paraffin-based) imported to produce lubricating oils, bitumen, asphalt, sulphur, waxes and greases. A linear alkyl benzene (LAB) unit was commissioned at Kaduna on March 21, 1988. Local and imported crude oils are supplied to Kaduna by pipeline from the Escravos terminal.

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