PUNCH
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said the Port Harcourt Refining Company was still being test-run, adding that refined petroleum products from the plant would hit the market soon.
It disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja, as oil marketers expressed worry that the recent crash of the naira against the United States dollar might lead to a hike in the pump prices of refined petroleum products.
They specifically wondered how the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited would continue to supply Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, at the current cost, considering the fact that one dollar now equals about N1,450.
Meanwhile, speaking about the Port Harcourt refinery during an event in Abuja, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, told journalists that the plant was still being test-run.
Recall that on December 21, 2023, the Federal Government announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State.
It also stated that the first phase of the plant had been completed, as the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil after the Christmas break. This, however, did not happen.
But when asked about the status of the facility on Wednesday, Lokpobiri replied, “The mechanical aspect of the Port Harcourt refinery has been completed and they are still test-running. Yesterday the MD of the refinery was here because I had to ask him what was going on.
“These were projects that are very fundamental to our survival economically, and I believe that very soon products will start coming from there. But there are several components in that gigantic structure that will take time mechanically to finalise for products to start coming.
“Recall that the Dangote refinery was commissioned by the Buhari administration but they haven’t started releasing products because it takes time. So I believe that the Port Harcourt refinery will soon come and the Warri refinery is in top gear.”
