The Port Harcourt Refining Company, a refinery under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Rivers State, has again failed to commence operations after about six postponements.
It was observed that promises made to Nigerians by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC about the refinery have continued to witness multiple failures.
Since December 2023, NNPC, which is in charge of all the government refineries, has given Nigerians different dates, assuring citizens that the refinery would begin the sale of refined products soon.
In July, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, stated categorically that the refinery would come into operation in early August.
The same Kyari said in 2019 that the NNPC would deliver all the country’s four refineries before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
While appearing before the senate recently in July, Kyari boasted, “I can confirm to you, Mr Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.
“Specific to NNPC refineries, we have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December, it will get to December, both Warri and Kaduna, but that of Port Harcourt will commence production early August this year.”
However, as August nears midpoint, the refinery has yet to commence operations, creating concerns that this might be another failed promise from NNPC.
Replying to inquiries from our correspondent on Tuesday, the NNPC said it was on course, even when the early August promise has expired.
In a chat with our correspondent, the NNPC spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, tersely replied, “We are on course.”
Soneye did not reply to further questions, asking if he meant the refinery would still operate this month.
The 210,000 barrels per day refinery was said to have reached what the NNPC called mechanical completion of rehabilitation work in December.
It stated that the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after last year’s Christmas break.
Later in January, Kyari said the refinery was being tested and would be ready by the end of January.
During the second month of the year, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited completed the supply of 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the Port Harcourt refinery, raising the expectations of marketers that production was set to commence.
This came a few weeks after NNPC said in January it was seeking to engage reputable and credible operations and maintenance companies to run the Port Harcourt refinery. NNPC did not disclose whether or not it had secured bidders to run the refinery.
In mid-March, Kyari said the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in two weeks, April.
“We are serving this country with honour and dignity. And we will make sure that the promises we make on the rehabilitation of these refineries will take place,” Kyari stated after he appeared before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various turnaround maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.
As the April deadline elapsed, independent petroleum marketers stated that the facility would begin production by the end of July.
Commenting on this, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Soneye, said regulatory approvals from international bodies were the only impediment stalling the operational commencement of the refinery.
“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. As 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,” Soneye revealed in May.
Some Nigerians have expressed disappointment that the nation’s refineries have remained moribund for years. The country has since depended on imported fuel as it lacks refining capacity, spending up to N2tn monthly.
The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said $4bn had been spent by the Federal Government in an attempt to revive the nation’s refineries.
