December deadline doubtful as new facts emerge on Port Harcourt refinery

The Managing Director of the Port Harcourt refinery project, Ibrahim Onoja, has said that over 75% of the refinery has been completed.

Onoja disclosed this in a report by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to show the level of progress at the refinery.

He said workers now run day and night shifts and have completed most of the procurement, with 98% delivered.

He said: “We have refineries over a hundred years old; the essential static equipment, the metallic part you see, remains fundamentally the same. “Upgrades happen over the years. Yes, the Port Harcourt refinery was built in 1965, but as time went on, the instrumentation equipment was upgraded.”

The refinery, built in 1965, is undergoing an extensive overhaul and change of essential parts.

Reports say that the NNPC report said that the instrumentation and control unit is undergoing overhaul, and the rotating equipment comprising the pumps and compressors have been upgraded and are all in place.

According to the report, the electrical systems, which include substations, transformers, switchgear, cables, and panels, are brand new.

The report highlighted that electrical systems, which include substations, transformers, switchgear, cables, and panels, are all brand new.

Onojo stated that the refinery repairs have been ongoing since April 2021, saying that 3000 workers work on the project, recording 8.3 million person-hours with zero lost time to injuries.

He said that the December deadline given by President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri would be met.

The Port Harcourt refinery boss revealed that operations would begin this month with the production of petrol, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), Kerosene, low and high-pour fuel oil, and diesel.

The NNPC Managing Director, Mele Kyari, said last month that the refinery will be ready by December. He said the Warri and Kaduna refineries will commence operation in 2024.