The new 150,000-barrels-per-day Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) complex is set to commence operations by mid-2025, according to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
Speaking to journalists during a facility tour in Rivers State, Kyari highlighted that the old refinery complex, now fully operational, has the capacity to supply products to 200,000 trucks daily. He attributed delays in the refinery’s resuscitation to the need for a complete overhaul of its machinery, describing the equipment as “brand new.”
Kyari was joined by Ahmed Farouk, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), as they conducted a media tour of the facility. Addressing concerns about the deteriorated Eleme Road, which leads to the refinery, Kyari disclosed that the road has been incorporated into the Federal Government’s tax credit scheme. Through this initiative, NNPCL has been repairing roads nationwide in exchange for tax waivers.
In a related development, Femi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, announced that truck loading operations at the Port Harcourt refinery began on Tuesday. He also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to bringing the Warri Refinery back online in the near future.
The rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, which has faced multiple delays, was approved by the Federal Government in 2021 with a $1.5 billion budget. The facility had been shut down two years prior to this approval.
Despite being one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, Nigeria has long relied on imported petroleum products due to insufficient local refining capacity. The commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery marks a significant step toward reducing dependence on imports.
This development comes amid broader reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, including the removal of fuel subsidies announced by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, which led to a surge in petrol prices.
