By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor & Davies Iheamnachor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Ltd. said it has fulfilled its pledge of achieving the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area 5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC.

Rehabilitation work had been ongoing at the Port Harcourt Refinery for over two years. The NNPC had pledged to complete Phase One of the project (mechanical completion and flare start-up) of Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5) by 31st December 2023.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, said as of December 15, 84.4% of Area 5 Plant, a key component of the Refinery, and 77.4% of the entire rehabilitation project have been completed.

He said this during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation project. The tour coincided with the 15th Refineries’ Rehabilitation Steering Committee Meeting,

Kyari’s words: “In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of phase one of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and get the other plants running in 2024.

“Today, we have kept those commitments,” Kyari stated.

He commended the staff and the contractors for doing a great job in ensuring that the refinery achieved that significant milestone.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the NNPC Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, described the milestone as “historic”. He stressed that the board was proud of the staff and management of the refinery.

“We are just starting. We want to be at the highest level of production so that we will keep the prices of petroleum prices in the country stable to give comfort to our people. And also to generate more revenue for our country,” Akinyelure noted.

‘Renewed Hope’

Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the milestone is another landmark of the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He thanked Nigerians for their patience and the trust they have in NNPC Ltd.’s ability to deliver on this huge project.

In his address, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said re-streaming the Refinery will herald a good omen for the nation’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry.

He noted that LPG, also known as cooking gas, is a major by-product of the Refinery.

On his part, the Managing Director of Tecnimont Nig. Ltd., Fabio Del Cioppo, one of the EPC contractors of the rehabilitation project, said his company remains committed to fulfilling the terms of the contract.

The project

The PHRC rehabilitation, which costs about $1.5 billion, covers the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning phases.

For Area 5, the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation have all been completed. The mechanical completion signifies the closure of the construction and installation phases.

More importantly, the milestone was achieved under an excellent Health, Safety and Environment, HSE, record, which stood at over 9.5 million manhours with zero Loss Time Injury, LTI.

Also commenting on the development was the immediate past Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, in Rivers State, Dr. Joseph Obele.

He said: “Test run is in progress and production would commence if it is certified fit.”

Also speaking was the founder of Abitto Global Services Limited, Mr. Richard Akinaka.

Akinaka said: “The revitalization of the Port Harcourt Refinery is not just about enhancing our energy capabilities. It is a powerful catalyst for economic growth.”

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