After Dangote refinery, video update shows another Nigerian refinery ready to start soon

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has said that substation 1 of the Port Harcourt refinery has been energized, stating that the development will help to activate 14 others.

The NNPC explained in a video update that the progress achieved in the facility’s rehabilitation project makes it almost ready to commence operations.

Dangote speaks on next step, targets as refinery begins processing of 1m barrels of crude oil

According to the national oil firm, 15 substations will be required to power its operations.

Its team has laid 64 kilometres of electrical cables to aid the task, with 65% of the wires bought locally.

Former Executive Director of the NNPC and an erstwhile MD of the Kaduna refineries, Alex Ogedengbe, said it would take about three months for the refinery to start refining petroleum products, even if it is completed on schedule. Ogedengbe stated the period would be used as a test run for the project.

He doubted the possibility of the refinery beginning operations this month due to a statement by NNPC last week that it was 75% ready.

ThisDay reports that the energized substation 1 will power the other 14 substations, serving as the primary power hub for the old and new refineries.

The report showed that the facility is set to receive electricity from gas turbine generators by mid-December 2023, providing power to various areas within the complex.

Electrical parts and other fittings are ready

The refinery’s lead Electrical Engineer, Chukwudi Iweha, said that activating the substation was essential in powering others. The NNPC said over 100 staffers worked on installing the switchgear panels, including high and low-voltage panels and motor control centre panels, which can handle 11,000 electricity volts.

The company said all the old equipment at the energized substation 1 was replaced with the latest technology to achieve maximum efficiency and safety. At the same time, several changes were made to maintain uninterrupted power at the substation.

The project’s Lead Instrumentation and Automation Engineer, Taiwo Igbosanu, emphasized the critical components as four engineers and operations workstations handled the project.