Nigeria’s oil sector is abuzz with renewed optimism about the Port Harcourt Refinery, with reports suggesting that commercial production could start within weeks.
This development was highlighted by the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, during an exclusive interview with Daily Post on Monday.
Gillis-Harry noted that his recent visit to the refinery, which has a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, revealed significant progress towards operational readiness.
He expressed hope that the refinery would soon produce petroleum products in commercial quantities, which would help alleviate fuel shortages across the country.
“The Port Harcourt Refinery is gearing up to be on stream to produce Petroleum in commercial quantity. We pray and hope that in the coming days or weeks, this comes to light. I went personally to the refinery. I saw efforts in place to ensure the refinery works,” Gillis-Harry stated.
In a related interview, oil and gas expert, Zakka Bala, emphasized that Nigeria’s energy security hinges on the successful revitalization of its government-owned refineries, including those in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.
Bala contrasted the profit-driven motives of the private Dangote Refinery with the service-oriented purpose of the national refineries.
“The hope for Nigeria’s energy security lies with the revitalization of our Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries. Dangote Refinery is a private business designed to maximize profits. We need to understand that private businesses are profit-centered. The moment private refineries start collecting crude allocation from national refineries, they may have no incentive for the national refineries to succeed,” Bala remarked.
This optimism comes on the heels of projections made by the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, who had forecasted that the Port Harcourt Refinery would commence operations in August 2024.
The refinery’s operational timeline had previously been set for March and July 2024, following its mechanical completion in December of the previous year.
The Nigerian government had allocated $1.5 billion for the turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery in 2021.
However, recent scrutiny has emerged, with Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman of the Senate Committee investigating alleged economic sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, calling for an investigation into the expenditure of this significant amount.
