Port Harcourt refinery to begin operation by December—FG

The Port Harcourt refinery is expected to start running by December 2023, according to the federal government.

During an inspection visit of the restoration work at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Limited plant on Friday, Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), spoke in Port Harcourt.

The assurance from Lokpobiri comes after a similar one from President Bola Tinubu earlier this month.

According to the minister, given the rate of work made on the PHRC rehabilitation project, the facility would be operational again by December of this year, according to a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, spokesperson for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

According to him, the tour's goal was to ensure that Nigeria stops importing fuel within the next several years.

“From what we have seen here today, Port Harcourt Refinery will come on board by the end of the year, Warri will come on stream by the end of the first quarter of next year, and Kaduna will also come on board towards the end of next year,” Garba Deen Muhammad, spokesperson for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), quoted Lokpobiri as saying.

“If you add that to the Dangote Refinery, we will be able to stop fuel importation, and Nigerians will enjoy the full benefits of deregulation,” he said.

The refinery's ongoing rehabilitation efforts, according to Lokpobiri, have him pleased.

He made the point that Nigerians would profit from a better supply of petroleum products and domestic currency once all the refineries were up and running, which would strengthen the nation's economy.

Petrol is crucial to Nigeria's economy, according to Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum (gas), who also spoke during the tour.

As a result, he declared that all hands must be on deck to make sure the refineries are operating.

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