The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited announced that the 60,000 bpd Port Harcourt refinery’s test runs are scheduled to conclude this month
Soneye went on to say that the test run was a significant step toward starting up again five years after the mill closed.
The facility’s Area-5 Plant repair work reached mechanical completion, as the state-owned oil firm declared in December.
The factory will begin processing 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day after the Christmas break, indicating that the first phase of the project had been finished. “Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” Reuters quoted NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, as saying.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), had said that the first phase of the PHRC was finished on December 20, 2023, and that the manufacture of refined goods will start after the holidays.
When operational, the plant is anticipated to relieve strain on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, coupled with the Dangote Refinery, which is anticipated to begin oil refining this year.
Experts and downstream operators said that even while the price of refined products would drop once these facilities begin to pump, there wouldn’t be a significant price collapse, according to The PUNCH.