The Port-Harcourt refinery is set to commence operations by the end of July.
This was revealed by Chief Ukadike Chinedu, National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, on Monday.
He stated that this development would stimulate economic activities, reduce the price of petroleum products, and ensure an adequate supply.
Last December, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the mechanical completion and flare start-up of the largest crude refinery in Port Harcourt.
The refinery, with a capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, comprises two units: the old plant, which can refine 60,000 barrels per day, and the new plant, which has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.
The refinery was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the services of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont as a technical adviser to review the refinery complex, with oil major Eni also appointed as a technical adviser.
On March 15, 2024, it was reported that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, stated that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in about two weeks.
Kyari disclosed this during a press briefing after appearing before the Senate Ad hoc committee investigating the various turnaround maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.
He said, “We completed the mechanical phase of the refinery in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are conducting regulatory compliance tests that must occur before starting operations, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in two weeks.”