The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd. in Rivers State has commenced crude oil processing.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and his entourage during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation work progress at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd. plant in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Tuesday’s move ends a series of failed deadlines for the commencement of production at the refinery in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State.
Upon his assumption of office in August 2023, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri said the Port Harcourt refinery would begin production in September before it was pushed forward to December of that year.
In March of the following year, the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said the refinery would begin production in April.
“We are focused on delivering this rehabilitation project, our two other refineries, and all other investments towards revamping the nation’s refining capacity,” Kyari said in August when he inspected the rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd
“We are hopeful that in 2024, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products,” he said.
Three years ago, the Federal Government approved $1.5 billion (1.2 billion euros) to repair the plant, one of the country’s biggest refineries which was shut down in 2019.
Despite being one of the largest producers of crude oil, Nigeria has over the years relied on the importation of petroleum products owing to a lack of local refining capacity.
Nigeria swaps crude worth billions of dollars for petrol that it had subsidised for years to keep prices cheap for its domestic market. Fuel imports and subsidies caused a huge drain on foreign exchange when Nigeria was struggling with dwindling oil revenues and foreign currency shortages.
But in September 2024, the Dangote refinery began the production of petrol, months after it said the plant had started operation.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced production of diesel and aviation fuel,” the group said. “This is a big day for Nigeria. We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone.”
With the coming onstream of the Port Harcourt refinery and the Dangote refinery already in production, Nigerians expect that these would cushion the impacts of the removal of fuel subsidy which hiked the cost of the commodity from around N200 to over N1,000 per litre.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
