The Port Harcourt Refining Company is now going through numerous licensing processes following the supply of crude oil to the plant, which was mechanically finished in December 2023.
Senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited confirmed this on Saturday, according to The PUNCH.
Also, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri,
had previously stated that the plant was in the last stages of renovation.
“The mechanical work at the Port Harcourt refinery has been completed. Also, crude oil has been sent to the plant. What is being awaited now has to do with licensing and the like. Now, these licenses are given based on some set of time-frames.
“Some officials involved in issuing these licenses are still observing the plant. Some of them came in last month and they are still there checking everything. They will also have to test-run the plant and all this will be at their pace. Most of them are foreigners and you can’t rush them.
“They have their integrity to protect, for if anything contrary happens at the refinery, the officials might be held accountable and their insurance firms would have to pay for any damage. So it is not entirely on our part when it comes to the takeoff of the refinery,” a petroleum ministry official, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to talk about the matter, stated.
The NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, announced in March, this year that the Port Harcourt refinery had received 450,000 barrels of crude oil and will commence operations in April. This, unfortunately, did not occur.
Kyari revealed this during a press conference following his appearance before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee reviewing the different Turn Around Maintenance projects at the country’s refineries.
“We did a mechanical completion of the refinery, which was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing the regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.
“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery. It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready.
“Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December,” the NNPC helmsman had stated.
On the volume of crude pumped to the plant at the time, Kyari had said, “All crude lines are active and have delivered over 450,000 barrels into the Port Harcourt refinery.”
However, last Friday at a press briefing on developments in the oil sector on Friday, the petroleum minister defended the ongoing work at the Port Harcourt refinery, as he told journalists that it often takes time before refineries start pumping out refined products after their mechanical completion.
Lokpobiri used the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as an example, noting that the refinery did not begin producing refined products immediately following its opening by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.
Dangote Refinery first released diesel into the Nigerian market in March 2024, followed by aviation fuel, but has yet to release petrol, which is widely consumed across the country.
“Port Harcourt refinery is still in the final stage of rehabilitation. After the flares at the refinery in December (2023), a lot of work has to be done. Recall that Dangote refinery was commissioned by (former) President Buhari before he left. But when did they start producing products? It took a long while.
“So it’s not just as easy as Nigerians may think. The best example is that between when Buhari commissioned the Dangote refinery and when it started bringing the products it took a long time. So I believe that within a short time we will get clarity on it (Port Harcourt refinery),” Lokpobiri stated.
The minister, on the other hand, noted that, while he routinely received plant status updates from NNPC, he had always inquired about the refinery’s completion date.
“I would like you to also go to NNPC. They awarded the contract. They report to me. But they awarded the contract. They are the people who are paying for the contract. And it’s always good to get the information right from the source. I get briefed from time to time.
“The same question people are asking me is what I’m also asking them (NNPC). When are we going to actually get this thing done? But they always said, look, Dangote refinery took some time. So it’s not just as easy as we think.
“And I think all of you here are witnesses to the Dangote refinery. When it was inaugurated by Buhari and when they started bringing our products. Even up till now, they haven’t started bringing out PMS. It takes time. But our own as a government is to ensure that we support them in any way we can,” Lokpobiri stated.
