NNPC Misses Port Harcourt Refinery Fuel Production Deadline Again

NNPC fails to meet the fuel production deadline at Port Harcourt Refinery once more, raising concerns over delays. Read the latest update.

Despite numerous promises and six postponements so far, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has failed to restart fuel production at its Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.

As of September 2024, the refinery is yet to be commissioned, leaving many Nigerians frustrated by the repeated delays. The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC assured the public that the refinery would be operational by August 2024.

However, after this deadline lapsed, the NNPC Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajia, announced in August that fuel production would commence in September and that petroleum products would be ready for testing and subsequent distribution in the domestic market. As September ended without any official updates from the NNPC, concerns are growing about the progress of the project.

The oil company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Sonye, ​​did not respond to inquiries on the status of the refinery, leaving many questions unanswered.

Meanwhile, Maire Tecnimont SpA, the contractor in charge of revamping the refinery, said it would provide an update on the completion of the project by October 2, 2024.

This information was in response to a question from Senior Legal Counsel for Nigeria, Femi Falana, who asked for clarification on the timeline for the rehabilitation of the refinery.

“Our clients are considering your letter and will be in touch with you by October 2, 2024,” the law firm said.

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Since December 2023, the NNPC, which has jurisdiction over all state-owned refineries, has given Nigerians various dates, assuring them that the refineries will soon start selling refined products.

In July, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari stated that the refinery would be operational by early August.

The same Kyari said in 2019 that NNPC would complete all four of its refineries by the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s term in office.

Speaking to the Senate in July, Kyari boasted: “Mr. Chairman, I assure you that the country will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of the year.

Regarding the NNPC refineries in particular, we have spoken to some committees and it is not possible to commission the Kaduna refinery before December. It will be December in Warri or Kaduna, but the Port Harcourt refinery is scheduled to start production in early August this year.

However, now in August the promise has not been kept and it has been postponed for the sixth time.

The refinery is yet to commence operation, although NNPC says it is on schedule.

OBASANJONEWS  recalls that in December, the 210,000 barrels per day refinery was reported to have reached what NNPC said was a complete mechanical rehabilitation. It was announced that the plant would begin refining 60,000 barrels per day of crude oil after the Christmas holidays last year.

In the second month of this year, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited completed the delivery of 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the facility, raising hopes among salespeople that production would begin soon.

This comes weeks after NNPC announced in January that it was seeking to partner with a reputable and reliable operation and maintenance company to run the refinery.

In late January, Kyari said the refinery was undergoing testing and was expected to be operational by the end of January.

In the second month of this year, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited completed the delivery of 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the facility, raising hopes among salespeople that production would begin soon.

This comes weeks after NNPC announced in January that it was seeking to partner with a reputable and reliable operation and maintenance company to run the refinery.

In mid-March, Kyari said the Port Harcourt refinery would begin operations in April, two weeks later.

“We will serve this country with honour and dignity. “And we are definitely going to fulfil our promises on the rehabilitation of these refineries,” Kyari said after appearing before a Senate Select Committee looking into various rehabilitation and maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.

With the deadline having passed in April, the independent oil marketing company told The Punch that the plants would start production at the end of July.

Commenting on this, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Soneye, said regulatory approval from international agencies was the only hurdle delaying the commissioning of the refineries.

Some Nigerians have expressed disappointment over the years of stalled refineries in the country. Since then, the country has relied on imported fuel due to lack of refining capacity, spending up to 2 trillion naira every month.

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the Federal Government had spent $4 billion to revitalize the country’s refineries.

The refineries, located in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, have been operational since 1965 but have been idle for several years.

In March 2021, the Nigerian government disbursed a $1.5 billion loan to refurbish and modernize the refineries. The move was criticized by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who advocated for the sale of all state-owned refineries.

Reacting to the plan to hand over the refineries to private operators, Atiku criticized former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Bola Tinubu for not following his advice to sell the refineries and other state-owned refineries to private operators.

Meanwhile, Nigerians are hoping that refineries will begin operating so the country can stop fuel imports and experience a collapse in pump prices.