The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has confirmed that the ongoing repair of the new 150,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt Refining Company has reached over 90 per cent completion rate.
This is according to the Group Executive Vice President, Downstream, Isiyaku Abdullahi, who spoke on Monday when labour leaders from the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress visited the facility in Rivers State.
The development, coming weeks after the old 60,000bpd plant in the Port Harcourt refinery started its operations, is another step toward achieving energy sufficiency in the country.
Recall that the PHRC officially commenced operations on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, after a series of postponements of its resumption dates by its managers — Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The newly rehabilitated Port Harcourt refinery also commenced the exportation of refined petroleum products, selling its first cargo of low sulphur straight-run fuel oil to Dubai-based Gulf Transport and Trading Limited.
While the facility has restricted its supply solely to its retail stations, the NNPCL EVC downstream said the coming onstream of the upgraded 150,000 barrels facility will resolve all fuel insufficiency challenges and make Nigeria a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
Speaking to the trade union leaders after conducting a tour around the facility, the NNPCL official said the latest report received from the contractor showed that over 90 per cent rehabilitation work has been completed.
However, he did not provide a tentative date for its commencement of operation.
He said, “This asset is under rehabilitation or an upgrade. There is an established process so that when the rehabilitation is completed, it will start running and it’s a state of art compared to any refinery in the world.
“From the contractors’ view, and from the report they sent to us, the refinery is over 90 per cent completed and will be finished as soon as possible. We are following through and ensuring that we get value for money. And then we can combine 60,000 barrels making it a total of 210,000 barrels. This would support our refining processes and products with the multiple effects that we would get from refining products. And then we can have sufficient products and then export them to other countries.”
On his part, the refinery’s Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja, showed the fact-finding team the plant.
“This is the new Port Harcourt refinery, a 150,000 barrels per day plant commissioned in 1989. The rehabilitation work is ongoing in this new Port Harcourt refinery at the same time we were working on the old Port Harcourt refinery. The old one is completed and the plant is running. You can see the new Port Harcourt refinery is at an advanced stage but importantly size matters.”