NNPCL plans to complete Port Harcourt Refinery test-run this month

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has announced that a test run on the 60,000-bpd Port Harcourt refinery will be completed before the end of January.

“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” NNPC spokesperson Femi Soneye told Reuters.

The refinery, which is undergoing an upgrade, will begin by processing 60,000 barrels per day, and NNPC expects to operate at the full capacity of 210,000 barrels per day later this year.

In December, the NNPCL said the Area 5 component of the Port Harcourt refinery had been completed successfully, including mechanical completion and flare start-up.

A $1.5 billion agreement to reopen the 210,000-barrel Port-Harcourt refinery was approved by the federal cabinet in March 2021. Tecnimont SPA, an Italian company, was given the task of completing the rehabilitation project in three stages over the course of 18, 24, and 44 months.

Prices of fuel in Nigeria have skyrocketed above 200 per cent following the removal of subsidy on petrol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Bringing government-owned refineries on board has been seen as a potential game changer to reduce the soaring price of fuel and keep the volatility of the foreign exchange market in control in Africa’s most populous nation.