Nigeria’s Port Harcourt Refining Company has successfully resumed operations, meeting the rehabilitation target set by the federal government. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, in a press statement on Thursday, announced the completion of mechanical work on Area 5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company.
The refinery, with a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, commenced operations on Wednesday after undergoing extensive rehabilitation for over two years. The NNPC Ltd. had pledged to complete Phase One of the project, including mechanical completion and flare start-up, by December 31, 2023.
As of December 15, 2023, 84.4% of Area 5 Plant and 77.4% of the entire rehabilitation project have been completed, according to Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd. Speaking during an inspection tour, Kyari stated, “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.”
The Chairman of NNPC Ltd Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, described the milestone as historic, emphasizing the commitment to reaching the highest level of production to stabilize petroleum prices and generate more revenue for the country.
The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their patience and trust in NNPC Ltd.’s ability to deliver on the project. The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, highlighted the positive impact on the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry, with cooking gas being a major by-product of the refinery.
The Managing Director of Tecnimont Nig. Ltd., Fabio Del Cioppo, one of the EPC Contractors of the Rehabilitation Project, affirmed the company’s commitment to fulfilling the terms of the contract.
The $1.5 billion rehabilitation project, approved by the Federal Executive Council in March 2021, aims to restore the Port Harcourt Refinery to its nameplate capacity of 210,000 barrels per day. The resumption of operations is anticipated to have positive effects on the downstream petroleum sub-sector, potentially leading to a decrease in the price of petrol.
