By Kolawole Ojebisi
After several postponements, the Port Harcourt refinery, one of the oil refineries owned by the Federal Government, has commenced processing crude oil.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Femi Soneye, disclosed this on Tuesday.
Soneye revealed that the refinery has kicked off with 60 percent capacity.
“Today marks a monumental achievement for Nigeria as the Port Harcourt Refinery officially commences crude oil processing. This groundbreaking milestone signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for our nation,” Soneye said on Tuesday.
“Hearty congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NNPC Board, and the exceptional leadership of GCEO Mele Kyari for their unwavering commitment to this transformative project. Together, we are reshaping Nigeria’s energy future!”
According to Soneye, truck loading will also commence on Tuesday (today), adding that the NNPCL is “working tirelessly to bring the Warri Refinery back online soon”.
This is coming after several postponement of the date of production by the management of the NNPCL.
The New Diplomat had reported how the spokesman of the NNPCL ascribed the postponements to the risks and challenges encountered while carrying out the rehabilitation, which he described as a brownfield project.
He noted that the NNPC began the commissioning of critical equipment and processing units after the mechanical completion in Nigeria.
“You may recall that mechanical completion of the PHRC revamp was successfully achieved several months ago, marking a significant milestone in the project. Following this, we began the commissioning of critical equipment and process units.
“However, as is common with brownfield projects of this scale and complexity, we encountered unforeseen risks and challenges,” Soneye had said
When prodded further by newsmen to give a specific timeline to when the refinery would commence oil production, Soneye just replied by saying, “shortly”.
The Port Harcourt refinery is one of three owned by the Federal Government and managed by the NNPC.
The refineries became moribund due to neglect by successive Nigerian governments.
Nigerians have been hopeful that the cost of fuel could crash if the country refines its crude and ends the import of refined products.
With this development, their hopes may be close to being realized.
