NNPC to begin full rehab of refineries in January

Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) is moving forward with the long-planned modernization of Nigeria’s state-run refineries in a program that will optimize processing capacities at the sites by 2022 (OGJ Online, Jan. 3, 2017).

The program for full rehabilitation of NNPC subsidiary Port Harcourt Refining Co. Ltd.’s (PHRC) Port Harcourt refining complex—which includes a 60,000-b/sd hydroskimming refinery and 150,000-b/sd full-conversion refinery—in Nigeria’s Rivers state, Warri Refining & Petrochemcial Co. Ltd.’s 125,000-b/sd refinery in Delta state, and Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd.’s 110,000-b/sd refinery in Kaduna state will begin in January 2020, said Mallam Mele Kyari, NNPC’s managing director.

Kyari said returning the refineries to operation at optimal capacities was a mandate that NNPC as a corporation would leave no stone unturned to actualize, adding that timely delivery of the assets was a priority to address petroleum needs of Nigerians.

“[W]e will deliver this project by 2022. We will commence actual rehabilitation work in January. We will do everything possible between October and December to close out all necessary conditions for us to deliver on that project. I believe that with the support that we have from the shareholders—government of this country, the entire staff of this company, and the contractors—I believe it is doable, and we will deliver the project,” Kyari said.

“It’s no longer about business now, but a reputational issue. For the original builders of the refinery, [Maire Tecnimont SPA], Eni SPA [subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Co. (NAOC)], and NNPC, let us be conscious of the fact that our reputation is at stake as far as this project is concerned. The NNPC leadership has promised this country that our refineries will work, therefore, we must work not to disappoint over 200 million Nigerian stakeholders,” Kyari said.

Kyari also challenged PHRC’s management to ensure that Nigeria’s indigenous engineers and other professionals working in the refinery are fully engaged to participate actively during the rehabilitation exercise and own the process.

According to Kyari, involvement of indigenous workers will help build capacity, save costs, and introduce an era of steady and uninterrupted production curve that will grow the nation’s oil and gas Industry.

In his presentation on the progress and milestones on Phase 1 of the projects, Carmelo La Mattina—the Tecnimont project manager—said that the inspection aspect of the project has progressed to 91%, with the project’s final report and engineering, procurement, and construction proposal now reaching 75%.

La Mattina also confirmed Tecnimont would deliver the first phase of rehabilitation project 3 weeks from now, assuring there were no challenges as the project continued to progress efficiently.

Daniele Tamburini, project manager for consulting company NAOC, also confirmed that work completed so far by NNPC and Technimont on the rehabilitation project complied with global standards.

Tamburini said NAOC was ready to receive the full report of the scoping for final assessment and support the corporation to deliver the project in record time.

Phased rehabilitation

Earlier in the year, PHRC let a $50-million contract to Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Nigeria Ltd. (TNL) to carry out a complete integrity check and equipment inspections of the Port Harcourt complex (OGJ Online, Apr. 3, 2019).

Tecnimont and TNL’s scope of work under the Phase 1 Rehabilitation program was to involve a 6-month assessment at site, including relevant engineering and planning activities in preparation for the second phase of the refinery modernization project, which will entail a full rehabilitation of the complex aimed at restoring the refining capacity to a minimum 90% of capacity utilization.

Subject to successful completion of the integrity check, Tecnimont and TNL, in collaboration with an unidentified partner, also was to execute EPC for the project’s second phase.

The two-phase PHRC revamping project forms a strategic part of NNPC’s development of Nigeria’s downstream business, which intends to ramp up Nigeria’s in-country refining capacity and upgrading processes to ensure higher-quality, value-added products in order to meet the country’s domestic demand for fuels and curb its reliance on foreign imports (OGJ Online, Jan. 12, 2017).

Italy’s Eni SPA previously entered a memorandum of understanding with NNPC to partner on PHRC’s modernization, which—alongside upstream measures that call for intensifying oil and gas production operations with an increased focus on development and exploration activities in the onshore, offshore, and ultradeepwater areas operated by Eni subsidiaries NAOC and Nigerian Agip Exploration—outlines Eni’s commitment to cooperate on rehabilitation and enhancement of the Port Harcourt manufacturing site (OGJ Online, Jan. 24, 2017).

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].