Nigeria may be inching closer to increasing domestic refining as the Federal Government declared that the Port Harcourt Refinery is 80 per cent completed.
Already, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Plc (NNPC) had announced the mechanical completion of the Port Harcourt Refinery in December 2023, while Dangote Refinery is also expected to start refining petrol soon.
The Director, Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, in a statement, said the Port Harcourt Refinery would produce two million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day upon resuming operations.
Oshundun noted that the old plant of the refinery would produce 54,000 barrels per day, while the new plant which is in its last phase of completion, would start production by the end of the year.
According to the statement, the Minister of State, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha made the assertions after an inspection tour of the facility along with the leadership of organisedlabour, adding that the combined capacities of both plants would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day.
“Speaking on the inspection visit to the Port-Harcourt refinery by TUC and Federal Government delegation, the minister said reports by organised labour and government established that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is 80 per cent completed.
“She explained that the old plant would begin with 54,000 barrels per day, which would produce two million litres of PMS and 2.2 million litres of diesel per day, while the new plant which is currently going through its last phase of completion would also begin production before the end of the year. The combined capacity of the two plants, when fully on stream, would produce 10 million litres of PMS per day.”
