The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has reaffirmed that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is fully operational, with active loading operations.
This was confirmed by the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, during the commissioning of the NUPENG Towers in Lagos on Wednesday.
Addressing skepticism surrounding the refinery’s status, Kyari extended an open invitation to human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, and others in doubt to join NNPC Ltd on a tour of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.
“We invite all doubters to come and see the refineries for themselves,” he emphasized.
Kyari also addressed the controversy regarding product blending, explaining its necessity in the refining process.
“Blending is not a crime; it is an integral part of refining. If you don’t blend, you will bring out off-spec products, which will destroy your vehicles.
“Every refinery blends because what is on specification in the United States of America will be off-spec in Nigeria and elsewhere,” he stated.
The refinery, located in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria, first began operating in 1965. It is the country’s oldest and biggest among the three government-owned refineries.
The site includes a refinery processing 60,000 barrels per day that was built in 1965, along with a 150,000 bpd unit that was installed in 1989. The Port Harcourt refinery, along with other state-owned refineries, has been operating well below its total capacity of 210,000 bpd for many years due to inefficiencies and maintenance issues.
This lack of efficiency has greatly led to Nigeria depending more on imported refined petroleum products, even though it is the biggest producer of crude oil in Africa.
The multi-phase rehabilitation project is expected to be finished by 2025. The mechanical completion phase, called the first phase, was completed by NNPC Ltd. in December 2023.
The updated refinery features high-tech components like the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU), Naphtha Hydrotreating Unit (NHTU), and Continuous Catalyst Regeneration (CCR) Unit, among other units.
Moreover, the facility includes a butamer isomerization unit, an alkylation unit, as well as units for hydrogen purification, fuel gas vaporization, sour water, and caustic treatment.
He congratulated NUPENG on completing the NUPENG Towers and encouraged the union to continue fostering dialogue and cooperation with NNPC Ltd and the federal government.
Highlighting positive developments in the oil and gas sector, Kyari noted, “The President’s interventions through Executive Orders are yielding results, attracting more investments, and creating prospects for more jobs in the industry.”