The Nigerian government said on Friday that the Port Harcourt refinery will be operational in December.
A statement signed by Garba Deen Muhammad, director of corporate communications for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL)he made it known on Friday.
The statement said the 60,000 barrel-per-day Port Harcourt refinery was closed in March 2019 for the first phase of repair work after the government secured the service of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the scope of the complex. refinery, with major oil company Eni appointed as technician. adviser.
In 2021, the NNPCL said that repairs had begun after the federal executive council approved $1.5 billion for the project.
Last September, the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the country’s largest crude oil refinery in Port Harcourt would restart operations in December after completing a renovation that began more than a year ago. But Newslodge analysis in October last year showed that the deadlines were not met.
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva
Once again, in January 2023, Sylva assured that part of the refinery would be finished in the first quarter of the year, but the government again missed its target.
On Friday, Muhammad said the federal government has reiterated its commitment to soon end the importation of petroleum products, while redoubling efforts to restore the country’s local refining capacity.
According to the statement, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri said this during a tour to inspect the progress of rehabilitation works at the refining company’s Port Harcourt plant on Friday.
He explained that the Minister, who was in the company of the Minister of State for Oil (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Gabriel Aduda and the General Director of the NNPC Group Ltd, Mele Kyari, said that considering the Given the level of progress registered in the PHRC rehabilitation project, the plant will be operational again in December of this year.
ALSO READ: NNPC seeks companies to operate and maintain Nigerian refineries
“Our goal in coming here today is to ensure that within the next few years Nigeria will stop importing fuel.
“From what we’ve seen here today, the Port Harcourt refinery will come online at the end of the year, Warri will come on stream at the end of the first quarter of next year and Kaduna will also come online towards the end of next year.
Port Harcourt Refinery
“If this is coupled with the Dangote refinery, we will be able to stop the importation of fuel and Nigerians will enjoy all the benefits of deregulation,” Mr Muhammad quoted the minister as saying.
Lokpobiri also said he was pleased with the ongoing rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt refinery, noting that once all the refineries are back online, Nigerians will enjoy a better supply of petroleum products and foreign exchange will be domesticated, which It will lead to a better economy.
Likewise, the Minister of State for Oil (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said: “We are here to go out into the field. Yesterday was the era of subsidies. Today we have no subsidies. Today, people are in dire straits to breathe a sigh of relief and see how to live. You all know that oil is very vital to our economy. They all need to be on hand to ensure the refineries are running,” he said.
In his remarks, NNPCL Group Chief Executive Mele Kyari said that bringing refineries back to optimum levels is a national aspiration and the company remains focused on achieving it.
“We are aware of our nation’s challenges in terms of fuel supply. But we are not here to make excuses. We are focused on executing this rehabilitation project, our other two refineries and all other investments to modernize the country’s refining capacity. We are hopeful that by 2024 this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products,” Kyari said in the statement.
During the visit, according to the statement, the two Ministers participated in the meeting of the Refinery Rehabilitation Steering Committee and held a meeting with the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractors of the refinery.
Read More Related News Here
Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; Port Harcourt refinery to start operations in December: Minister