Emmanuel OchayiGroup Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has reassured that the second phase of repair works at the Port Harcourt refinery will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.
Speaking at the 15th Refineries’ Rehabilitation Steering Committee Meeting during an inspection tour of the ongoing rehabilitation project, Kyari affirmed the progress made thus far.
“In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of phase one of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and get the other plants running in 2024. Today, we have kept those commitments,” Kyari stated confidently.
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Giving an update on the project’s status, he added, “We are done with phase one. We will complete phase two as promised within 2024, maximum – the last quarter of 2024.”
Ibrahim Onoja, the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company, expressed optimism about the refinery’s renewed capabilities once the rehabilitation is complete.
“This plant you see is a renewed plant that will last Nigeria for decades. We can beat our chest and say we’ve come over 50 years, and we’ll go another 50 years,” Onoja emphasized.
He further detailed the potential benefits, saying, “This will give value to Nigeria, create jobs, provide feedstock for industries, revenue, foreign exchange, energy security, and more. Phase one of this refinery is 60,000 barrels per day, the other one is 150,000 bpd. So we have a complementary 210,000bpd refinery.”
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, highlighted the refinery’s role in domestic gas production, aiming to reduce import dependence. “The PHRC would produce cooking gas, adding that this would lead to a reduction in the importation of the commodity,” Ekpo remarked.
The milestone achieved, the completion of the Area 5 section of the Port-Harcourt refinery, marks progress in the extensive rehabilitation efforts.
This accomplishment follows the successful mechanical completion and flare start-up reported by the NNPCL.
The federal government’s approval of the $1.5 billion contract for the refurbishment of the 210,000-barrel capacity Port Harcourt refinery to Tecnimont SPA, an Italian company, in March 2021, laid the foundation for this extensive and crucial project.
It was structured to be executed in three phases of 18, 24, and 44 months, with a focus on reviving the refinery’s functionality and efficiency.
The commitments voiced by NNPCL’s leadership give hope for a revamped and long-lasting refinery, poised to significantly contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth and energy security in the coming decades.
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