*Phase two of Port Harcourt slated to come on stream by 2024
Peter Uzoho and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) yesterday announced mechanical completion of Area 5 Plant of the old 60,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt Refinery under construction, disclosing that the facility would resume production of petroleum products after Christmas.
Relatedly, two weeks after receipt of the first cargo containing one million barrels of crude from Shell in readiness for the commencement of refining operation at its 650,000 barrels per day petroleum refinery in Lagos, Dangote Refinery Limited, yesterday, announced that it had received an additional one million barrels from NNPCL.
The Port Harcourt Refinery completion was announced during a tour of the refinery complex by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, in company of Chairman of NNPCL Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, among other officials.
The stakeholders also disclosed that Phase Two of the refinery would be completed and brought back on stream by 2024, adding that resumption of production at the facility would help stabilise petroleum products supply and distribution and also lead to reduction in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Rehabilitation work had been ongoing at the refinery for over two years and NNPCL had pledged to complete Phase One of the project (mechanical completion and flare start-up) of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5) by December 31, 2023.
In his short remarks before the business meeting of the Refinery Rehabilitation Steering Committee and tour of the facility, Lokpobiri disclosed that Phase One of the refinery achieved mechanical completion and flare start-up on December 20.
The flare start-up was an indication that the mechanical aspect of the refinery was working.
The minister said, “This is just to announce to Nigerians the fulfilment of our pledge to bring on stream Phase One of the Port Harcourt Refinery by the end of 2023 and the subsequent streaming of the Phase Two in 2024. We heartily announce the mechanical completion and flare start-up on the 20th of December, 2023.
“This heralds the commencement of production of petroleum products after the Christmas break. We want to thank Nigerians for their patience and the trust in NNPC to deliver on our promise and mandate on the rehabilitation of our refineries. This is also another landmark of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Congratulations to NNPC.”
Lokpobiri said the feat achieved with the completion of the phase one signalled the beginning of the completion of other refineries in Warri and Kaduna to enable Nigeria benefit from the massive investment made in the facilities.
He stated, “So, I want to congratulate the NNPC team. I want to congratulate Nigerians for being patient with us. And I can assure you that with this good news, all of us should go home and celebrate Christmas and then expect a very prosperous 2024.”
Ekpo also said the promise made a few months ago had been accomplished. He said Nigerians would be happy with the cheery news.
“Like my colleague mentioned, in August, when we came here, we were told that by December, this thing will come on stream, and today, we have witnessed that. So, I’m really impressed,” he added.
The minister assured users of LPG, popularly known as cooking gas, that with the refinery set to commence production after Christmas, they would have sufficient supply of the energy source, adding that the refinery production would automatically reduce import of the product.
Ekpo added, “So, it’s something to celebrate, and if I pour encomium on the GCEO, it is not flattering because I know the joy that is in the hearts of Nigerians with the coming on stream of this phase one. Others will follow suit because they have fulfilled the first assignment, I believe others will be completed on schedule.”
Speaking during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation project, which also coincided with the 15th Refineries Rehabilitation Steering Committee meeting, GCEO of NNPCL said as at December 15, 2023, 84.4 per cent of Area 5 Plant, a key component of the refinery, and 77.4 per cent of the entire rehabilitation project had been completed.
He commended NNPCL’s staff and the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning (EPCIC) contractors for doing an excellent job in ensuring that the refinery achieved that significant milestone.
Kyari stated, “In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of the Phase One of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and also get the other plants running in 2024. Today, we have kept to those commitments.”
He said the company would complete the Phase Two as promised by the last quarter of 2024, at the latest.
Kyari added, “More importantly, for my colleagues in NNPC, particularly those of them on this beat, I would like to thank you for your commitment and for your loyalty to the company. And of course, that also goes to our colleagues from the contracting group of companies. And, of course, all the support that we have from the government.
“We understand the concerns of government. We know all of the scepticism that is in the public space. But today has proven that we can make our commitments and NNPC is here to deliver value and we will get things done going forward.”
Chairman of NNPCL Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, described the milestone as “historic”, and stressed that the board was proud of the staff and management of the refinery.
“We are just starting. We want to be at the highest level of production so that we will keep the prices of petroleum products in the country stable in order to give comfort to our people and also generate more revenue for our country,” Akinyelure stated.
Other top government and NNPC officials present during the tour were NNPC’s Executive Vice President (Upstream), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; her counterpart at the Downstream, Mr. Adedapo Segun; Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Mr. Ibrahim Onoja; and Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, among other staff of the company.
In a statement issued after the event, Soneye said NNPCL and its contractors achieved over 9.6 million man-hours without Lost Time Injuries (LTI). He explained that the PHRC rehabilitation project, which costs about $1.5 billion, was an EPCIC project covering Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning phases.
According to Soneye, for Area 5, the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation have all been completed, and the mechanical completion signifies the closure of the Construction and Installation phases.
He added, “More importantly, the milestone was achieved under an excellent Health Safety & Environment (HSE) record, which stood at over 9.5 million man-hours with zero Loss Time Injury (LTI).”
Dangote Refinery Receives another One Million Barrels of Bonny Light Crude from NNPCL
Dangote Refinery Limited, yesterday, announced that it had received an additional one million barrels of crude oil from NNPCL.
The latest crude supply, which was of Bonny Light grade, was supplied to the refinery through the Shell terminal via the MT Otis owned by Trafigural.
This one million barrels marked the second consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude being expected by the world’s largest single-train refinery.
Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Mr. Akin Omole, disclosed the receipt of the second batch of feedstock supply from NNPCL during a chat with journalists yesterday at the Dangote Quay, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
Omole stated that the refinery was expecting more crude before the end of the year to put the refinery in good stead ahead of commencement of actual refining operation.
Two weeks ago, Dangote Refinery had announced receipt of one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria and globally, trading over eight million barrels of crude oil per day.
The latest one million barrels represented the second phase of the six million barrels of crude oil to be supplied to Dangote Petroleum Refinery by a range of suppliers for the production of petroleum products.
The company stated that once the six million barrels were fully delivered, it would facilitate the initial run of the refinery as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of petrol.
The latest development was expected to play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria and its West African neighbours.
Designed for 100 per cent Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery could process most African crude grades as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US Light oil and crude from other countries.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is also reputed of being able to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also have surplus of each of these products for export.
The refinery was built to take crude through its two Single Point Mooring (SPMs) facilities located 25 kilometres from the shore and to discharge petroleum products through three separate SPMs. In addition, the refinery has the capacity to load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck loading gantries.
Dangote Refinery has a self-sufficient marine facility with the ability to handle the largest vessels globally available. In addition, all products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.
The refinery was designed to comply with US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms as well as African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.
