THE state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said its northern Kaduna oil refinery would be back on stream by the middle of September instead of the earlier target of end August. The 110000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery was shut down early this month after its five boilers, which had shown signs of wear for some time, finally broke down. ”I am optimistic the refinery will come back by middle of next month,” NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, said in the Nigerian capital Abuja, adding that repairs would take longer than expected. Gaius-Obaseki had ordered that the refinery be put back on stream by the end of August after its closure created the fear of renewed fuel shortage in the northern parts of the country, but officials at the plant indicated that this target might not be met. Oil producing Nigeria depends on imports to meet domestic demand for petroleum products following declining output from its four ageing refineries which have suffered decades of neglect. – Reuters