UPDATE 1-Nigerian oil refineries to restart after 2 years

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LAGOS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A pipeline carrying crude oil to two Nigerian refineries has been fixed two years after it was blown up by militants and the plants will restart by the end of January, a state oil company official said on Wednesday.

The resumption of the Warri and Kaduna refineries, with a combined capacity of 235,000 barrels per day, should reduce Nigeria's $4 billion annual fuel import bill dramatically and cut crude oil exports by about 200,000 barrels per day.

A third refinery complex at Port Harcourt, with a capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, is supplied by a different crude pipeline and is currently processing at 65 percent, the official said, asking not to be named.

"The work on the pipeline is complete. Next weekend the Warri refinery will restart and within 2-3 weeks the crude will come to Kaduna," the official said.

The Warri and Kaduna plants are expected to run at close to 80 percent of their capacity soon after startup, he added.

The pipeline feeding both refineries was blown up by militants in Feb. 2006 during a series of attacks on oil infrastructure in the oil producing Niger Delta.

The state oil company was unable to effect repairs until late last year because local communities denied them access to the damage, located deep in the southern swamps of the delta.

Oil company officials and analysts say the delay was also prolonged by corrupt government officials who benefit from commissions on fuel imports, which reached about five million tonnes, worth $4 billion, last year because of the refinery stoppage. (Reporting by Tom Ashby; editing by James Jukwey)