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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
In fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu administration’s pledge to fix Nigeria’s moribund refineries, the Port Harcourt Refinery has started production.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, workers are seen congratulating themselves for a job well done.
The Port Harcourt Refinery, with a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, is set to come on board as it begins operations on Thursday.
The $1.5 billion rehabilitation project was launched by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, to restore the aging refinery to its nameplate capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The project was seen as a critical step towards boosting Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity and reducing its dependence on imported petroleum products.
Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd had earlier announced that the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operation in December 2023.
Speaking during the budget defence on December 9, Kyari told lawmakers that by the end of December 2023, the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations.
Additionally, in early 2024, the Warri refinery is slated to begin operations, and by the end of the same year, the Kaduna refinery is expected to come online, according to Kyari.
Kyari asserted that these initiatives, including refinery rehabilitation, small-scale refinery efforts, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, aim to transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products by 2024.
“I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery, and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation,” he said.
See video below: