After several missed deadlines for breathing life into the Port Harcourt Refinery, trucks began loading petroleum products from the refinery on Tuesday, mostly Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel, and Household Kerosene (HHK) or kerosene, while other product slates will be dispatched as well.
On this note, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said it has fulfilled its pledge to re-stream the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), signalling the commencement of crude oil processing from the plant and delivery of petroleum products into the market.
At a brief ceremony to mark the commencement of product loading at the refinery Tuesday morning in Port Harcourt, the NNPCL Group CEO, Mele Kyari described the feat as a monumental achievement for Nigeria signifying a new era of energy independence and economic growth for the country.
NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Femi Soneye, in statement said Kyari particularly thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering support and understanding towards the rehabilitation project and for his persistence to ensure energy security for the country.
Kyari also expressed deep appreciation to the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors and the entire staff for their support and commitment, which crystallized into the streaming of the refinery. He also commended the contractors for doing a great job in ensuring that the refinery is delivered despite all challenges.
The GCEO further thanked Nigerians for their patience and for the legitimate expectations of the Company to deliver on the other refineries.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, congratulated the NNPC Ltd for the milestone and assured of his agency’s continued support towards the completion of rehabilitation work at the other refineries.
The PHRC rehabilitation project is an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning (EPCIC) project that is aimed at restoring the refinery to full functionality and renewal. It has achieved over 16 million manhours with zero Loss Time Injury (LTI).
Earlier, the Presidency had said with the commencement of Port Harcourt Refinery on Tuesday, about 200 trucks were set to load petroleum production at the government-owned plant.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, in a statement via his official X handle, said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He said “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings. The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
Over the weekend, the refinery began the production of an intermediate product, ethanol, which was further blended into PMS.
The production is taking place at the old Port Harcourt Refinery with 60,000 barrels capacity per day.
Business Standards, citing multiple sources within the plant, said the plant had produced its first ethanol in recent times, an intermediate product, and was in the process of blending it into petrol.
“The old plant has started production,” another source told Business Standards.
This development, it was gathered, has elicited a lot of joy among the plant workers while traffic of government officers to the refinery has increased in the last few days.
“Government officers from Abuja and Lagos have been visiting the refinery in the last few days,” a source told Business Standards.
