The Port Harcourt refinery, with a capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, is expected to start operations by the end of July after numerous delays.

This announcement was made on Monday by Chief Ukadike Chinedu, the National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN). He explained that the refinery’s commencement would boost economic activities, lower the prices of petroleum products, and ensure an adequate supply.

Port Harcourt Refinery Set to Begin Operations in July

In December of last year, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the mechanical completion and flare start-up of the refinery. The Port Harcourt refinery comprises two units: an older unit with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and a newer unit capable of refining 150,000 barrels per day.

The refinery was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works. The Nigerian government had enlisted the services of Maire Tecnimont, an Italian company, to conduct reviews, while Eni was appointed as a technical adviser.

On March 15, 2024, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, stated that the Port Harcourt refinery would start operations within two weeks. This announcement was made during a press briefing after Kyari appeared before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee, which was investigating various turnaround maintenance projects at the country’s refineries. He said, “We did a mechanical completion of the refinery that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in two weeks.”

Despite this assurance, the refinery had yet to begin operations two months after Kyari’s statement.

In an exclusive interview on Monday, Chief Ukadike Chinedu confirmed that significant progress had been made, ensuring that the July deadline would be met. He emphasized that the work done on the refinery represented a complete turnaround, not just rehabilitation.

Ukadike stated, “Yes, when we visited the place, the MD told us that the refinery was almost ready and by the end of July, they would start producing. It has been turned into a new one; they changed all the armoured cables to brand new and everything there is almost like a brand-new refinery. The turnaround on maintenance is very massive, and the job is being done day and night. All hands are on deck to make sure that they meet that target. By the end of July, the refinery should be ready.”

When asked about previous delays, Ukadike acknowledged them but assured that no current challenges were hindering the refinery’s progress. He stated, “Yes, there have been delays, but they didn’t tell us any reason for the delay of the last deadline given in April. They are not facing any challenges at all; I can say the refinery is 99 per cent ready. What we want is competition. I am very sure that with the two refineries, the price of petrol will be reduced. Dangote is coming soon, and the Port Harcourt refinery is almost ready too, and that is very good. We need that competition for the benefit of the nation.”

This new timeline aligns with the Dangote Refinery’s proposal to start petrol production by the end of June. At the Africa CEO Forum annual summit in Kigali, Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, assured Nigerians that the Dangote Refinery’s commencement would eliminate the need for Nigeria to import petrol starting next month. The refinery is expected to meet the petrol and diesel needs of West Africa and the aviation fuel demands of the continent.

Currently, Nigeria consumes about 1 billion liters of petrol monthly, spending around N520 billion on imports. This figure translates to an annual import bill of approximately N6.2 trillion, which could be significantly reduced with the new refinery operations.

Femi Soneye, the NNPC Limited’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, noted that regulatory approvals from international bodies were the only remaining obstacle to starting the refinery. In an exclusive interview on Monday, Soneye reiterated that mechanical completion had been achieved and all pipelines were operational, with crude oil supplied by Shell. He said, “We have said that the mechanical completion has been done and every other thing is done.

There is crude oil and all the pipes are working; we are only waiting for regulatory approvals. Like I said, some of our materials and the things we use have to do with nuclear, and we need the nuclear authorities to give us approval to use all those things at the site. And some of these approvals come from bodies outside of Nigeria. Until they give us those approvals, we can’t begin operations. We are ready to go, but if something happens without it, which would be another issue. Everything has been completed in terms of our work, and once we get those approvals, it will start operations.”

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