Nigeria’s NNPCL restarts Port Harcourt refinery

Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (NNPCL) has completed rehabilitation and restarted processing and production activities for subsidiary NNPC RefChem Ltd.-held Port Harcourt Refining Co. Ltd.’s (PHRC) existing 60,000-b/sd hydroskimming refinery at Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s Rivers State (OGJ Online, Apr. 6, 2021).

As of Nov. 26, 2024, PHRC was operating at 70% of its nameplate capacity as trucks began loading the recently restarted refinery’s initial production of premium motor spirit (PMS; gasoline), automotive gas oil (AGO; diesel), and household kerosine (HHK) for delivery to domestic markets, NNPCL said in a series of releases.

Following years of operational challenges resulting in the site’s underperformance, NNPCL said the completed PHRC rehabilitation project enables the refinery to produce:

• 1.4 million l.day of PMS via blending with straight-run gasoline (naphtha).
• 1.5 million l./day of AGO.
• 2.1 million l./day of low-pour fuel oil.
• 900,000 l./day of HHK.
• An unspecified volume of LPG.

·       Alongside plans to ramp up PHRC’s operations to 90% of the site’s nameplate capacity, NNPCL confirmed it has made “substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt [r]efinery, which will begin operations soon without prior announcements.”

Part of the PHRC rehabilitation and expansion project launched in 2021 under the Nigerian government’s broader program to rehabilitate and optimize processing capacities of its three state-run refineries—which, in addition to PHRC, include NNPC RefChem-held 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—included a complete overhaul of the 150,000-b/sd co-located at the “new” Port Harcourt complex (OGJ Online, May 3, 2021).

Upon NNPCL’s Nov. 26 announcement, both Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Farouk Ahmed—chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)—separately expressed the federal government’s reassurance of continued support to NNPCL as it works to complete rehabilitation of the KRPC and WRPC refineries.

Initiated under former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the ongoing refurbishment, optimization, and expansion of Nigeria’s state-operated refining capacity now aligns with the nation’s more-recent Renewed Hope Agenda focused on shared economic prosperity for all, which includes enhancing Nigeria’s energy security via growth of in-country refining capacity to supply higher-quality, value-added products that meet domestic demand, with surplus available for export to international markets (OGJ Online, Jan. 9, 2024; Jan. 9, 2023).

In a statement published on Nov. 26 to his official social media account, Bayo Onanuga—special adviser on information and strategy to President Tinubu—said Tinubu underscores the current administration's “determination to repair the nation’s refineries, aiming to eradicate the disheartening perception of Nigeria as a major crude oil producer that lacks the ability to refine its own resources for domestic consumption.”