Economy
NNPCL Sets New Date for Port Harcourt Refinery Operations
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that the Port Harcourt Refinery will begin commercial operations in September 2024. This update was provided by the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
Ajiya stated that petroleum products from the refinery would be ready for testing before their expected release to the domestic market in September. This announcement follows a series of previously missed commencement dates.
The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, had earlier indicated that the refinery was nearing operational readiness.
This latest projection follows a July statement by NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, who had announced that the refinery, with a production capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, was expected to begin operations in August. Prior to this, NNPCL had set March and July 2024 as potential start dates, following the mechanical completion of the refinery in December last year.