The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed the completion of mechanical works at the Port Harcourt Refinery, also known as the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC). The group added that the rehabilitation project at the refinery was achieved at a cost $1.5billion

Making the announcement in a press statement issued by Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, the NNPC Ltd. further stated that operation has commenced at the refining facility with the expectation that the refined petroleum product would be available in the market before the end of 2023.

The Nigerian government has spent billions of naira in rehabilitating the refineries located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri, but they have remained idle for many years. The rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery has been ongoing for the past two years under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The NNPCL had promised that the mechanical operation of the facility would be completed this year.

While there have been speculations that the refinery operation might not come to reality, given that the NNPCL had kept mute on the progress of the project, Olufemi Soneye, stated that the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, had already reiterated on December 15th, 2023, that there would be activities from the refining site.

Speaking about the development, Mele Kyari expressed his satisfaction with the completion of the rehabilitation and commencement of the project.“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.

In his address, “the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the milestone is another landmark of the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. He thanked Nigerians for their patience and the trust they have in NNPC Ltd.’s ability to deliver on this huge project.

“The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, said re-streaming of the Refinery will herald a good omen for the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry, as LPG, also known as cooking gas, is a major bye-product of the Refinery.

“Also speaking the Managing Director of Tecnimont Nig. Ltd., Fabio Del Cioppo, one of the EPC Contractors of the Rehabilitation Project, said his company remains committed to fulfilling the terms of the contract.

“The PHRC rehabilitation project, which costs about $1.5bn, is an EPCIC project that covers Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning phases. For Area 5, the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation have all been completed. The mechanical completion signifies the closure of the Construction and Installation phases.

“More importantly, the milestone was achieved under an excellent Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) record, which stood at over 9.5 million manhours with zero Loss Time Injury (LTI).”