By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Federal Government of Nigeria has assured that the ongoing rehabilitation of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery would be completed and put to use by the first quarter of 2023.
Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Ahmed Dikko, who gave the assurance recently, said the Old Port Harcourt Refinery, referred to as ‘Area 5’, would be the first of three phases of the project.
With a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, the facility would have a refining capacity of 210,000 bpd when entirely completed by the end of 2024.
Nigeria’s House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee had visited the facility in Rivers State for an on-the-spot assessment of the $1.5 billion rehabilitation project from where Dikko spoke.
He expressed confidence that they would stick to the timelines and within the cost approved for the project.
He said, “We plan to finish Area 5 by the first quarter of next year, so we can begin to run it. It is the old refinery. It is a 60,000 barrels per day capacity plant and it is a priority for us at this point.
“The other parts of the refinery would come a few months after that. We are on track and managing the process very well and would continue to do the best we can at all times to ensure that we meet these expectations we put on ourselves so we all would be proud of all these activities and begin to have some refining capacity in Port Harcourt.”
He expressed gratitude to the House of Representatives for their support.
Chairman of the House Ad-Hoc Committee, Hon Ganiyu Johnson, who was led round the facility along with his members by the MD, expressed satisfaction with the level of work.
He said, “So far on behalf of my committee members, we are satisfied with the level of work, because we did not expect this level of performance when we left Abuja. But after going round, we are satisfied with the level of performance.
“Nigerians should bear with the company. We know that the solution to all oil subsidy is the refineries. The oil subsidy would be a thing of the past. We should be able to reduce it to the barest minimum.”
