The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd in Rivers State has officially commenced crude oil processing, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s quest for energy independence and economic growth. This development ends a series of failed deadlines for the commencement of production at the refinery ¹.
According to Femi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), “Today marks a monumental achievement for Nigeria as the Port Harcourt Refinery officially commences crude oil processing. This groundbreaking milestone signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for our nation.”
The refinery has commenced operations with a 60% capacity, processing 60,000 barrels per day of crude. The Port Harcourt refinery has a combined 250,000 barrels per day capacity ².
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had initially announced that the refinery would begin production in September 2023, but the deadline was later pushed forward to December 2023, and then to April 2024 ¹.
The rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery is part of the federal government’s efforts to revamp the nation’s refining capacity. In 2021, the government approved $1.5 billion to repair the plant, which was shut down in 2019 ¹.
The commencement of crude oil processing at the Port Harcourt refinery is expected to cushion the impacts of the removal of fuel subsidy, which hiked the cost of petrol from around N200 to over N1,000 per litre. With the Dangote refinery already in production, Nigerians expect that these developments will lead to a significant reduction in fuel prices
