Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have successfully re-commenced operations after a nine-month phased rehabilitation exercise, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced on Wednesday.
The corporation in a statement disclosed that both refinery plants fixed by its in-house engineers and technicians have commenced preliminary production of petroleum products after successful test-runs. According to the statement, Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) is now operating at about 60 percent of its installed capacity of 210, 000 barrels per day while the Warri Refinery and PetroChemicals (WRPC) production is projected to hit 80 percent of its installed 125, 000 bpd capacity.
The PHRC, according to the statement, is projected to boost the nation’s local refining capacity with a product yield of 5million litres of petrol per day, while WRPC would contribute 3.5 million litres of petrol to local refining capacity.
The NNPC further explained that it opted for the phased rehabilitation strategy to fix the ailing refineries after the Original Refinery Builders (ORB) who were initially contacted for the project came up with unfavourable terms. “Though a decision was taken in 2011 to rehabilitate all the refineries using the ORB of each of the refineries, we were impelled to switch strategy after the ORBs declined participation and nominated some partners in their stead who came up with outrageously unfavourable terms,” the corporation stated.
By Olisemeka Obeche
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