Port Harcourt Refinery Commence Production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced that the Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced crude oil processing, operating at 60% of its 250,000 barrels per day capacity. This comes after several failed attempts to start production at the refinery.

 This was disclosed by the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The Port Harcourt Refinery has a combined capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.

The refinery is currently processing 60,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

Based on the research results, the main reasons for the previous failed attempts at starting production at the Port Harcourt Refinery were:

In the past, the NNPCL explained that the refurbishing of the Port Harcourt refinery project encountered “unforeseen risks and challenges” during the rehabilitation and commissioning process.

While the unforeseen Circumstances, were rectified according to the NNPC, the company announced the completion of mechanical maintenance and repairs on the Refinery. Still, it failed to commence operations due to “ongoing Safety Checks and delays in the Final stages of the rehabilitation.

As of October 2024, the Port Harcourt refinery has missed a total of 7 production start deadlines

The NNPCL had set various dates for the refinery’s operational start, including in March, August, and September 2024, all of which were missed.

The contractor overseeing the refinery rehabilitation, Maire Tecnimont, refused to disclose the completion date when requested, citing it as confidential information.

This lack of transparency added to the public frustration around the repeated delays.