Robert Brelsford
Downstream Technology Editor
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) subsidiary Port Harcourt Refining Co. Ltd. (PHRC) has let a contract to Maire Tecnimont SPA subsidiaries to provide services as part of the first leg of a long-planned rehabilitation project at the 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.
Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Nigeria Ltd. (TNL) will carry out a complete integrity check and equipment inspections of the complex under the $50-million contract, Maire Tecnimont said.
Tecnimont and TNL’s scope of work under the Phase 1 Rehabilitation program will 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, the service provider said.
Subject to successful completion of the integrity check, Tecnimont and TNL, in collaboration with an unidentified partner, also will execute engineering, procurement, and construction for the project’s second phase, Maire Tecnimont said.
The two-phase PHRC revamping project forms a strategic part of NNPC’s development of the Nigerian hydrocarbons downstream sector, 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 Nigerian Agip Oil Co. 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).
A definitive timeframe for completing the Port Harcourt refinery modernization, however, has yet to be confirmed.
