Rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refinery begins, project to generate 3,000 jobs ─NNPC

*We are happy we have the contractor onboard. With strong collaboration of all parties involved, we will achieve the desired results, says Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Restating its firm commitment not to fail Nigerian consumers, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has kicked off construction work in the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation project.

Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, who disclosed this development in a statement Friday, May 7, 2021, in Abuja, FCT, noted Engr. Mustapha Yakubu, Chief Operating Officer, Refineries & Petrochemicals at the Corporation, said that everything was being done to ensure that the project is delivered hitch-free and on schedule.

The statement explained Engr. Yakubu, while speaking at the Technical Kick-off Meeting for the project held in the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex (PHRC), Alesa Eleme, Rivers State, said everything about the project had been carefully worked out to ensure that the target of at least 90 percent refining capacity of the facility is achieved when operational.

The NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries & Petrochemicals said: “It must be hitch-free, and that is why we are engaging the host communities appropriately.

“200 million Nigerians are looking up to us, and we can’t afford to fail. We’ve been on this journey since 2019.”

According to Yakubu, the refinery rehabilitation project would require 3,000 workers at the peak of activities.

Out of this number, there would be only 70 expatriates while the balance would be sourced locally in line with the local content policy.

He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for approving $1.5 billion for the project.

Earlier, Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, in his via a message delivered on his behalf by Mr. Umar Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation, assured Nigerians that the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) would roar back to life on or before April 5, 2023, when repairs will have been completed on the old refinery also known as Area 5.

The GMD stated that the target is to fix the old refinery first so that local refining can resume as soon as possible.

The NNPC Management would do everything to support the contractor, Maire Technimont SPA, to ensure prompt delivery of the project, said Malam Kyari.

He stated: “We are happy we have the contractor onboard. With strong collaboration of all parties involved, we will achieve the desired results.

“We have both government and private sector financing. We have the finance ministry, NEITI, Labour unions and other stakeholders on board this project.

“They want to see transparency so they can report same to Nigerians, and this is one of the most transparent processes ever.”

In his presentation, Engr. Ahmed Dikko, Managing Director of PHRC, said that all the process plants had been made hydrocarbon-free to enable the contractor to carry out the rehabilitation work safely.

Mr.  Masu Alberto, Representative of Maire Technimont SPA, also stated that the rehabilitation journey started in 2017 with integrity test of the refinery.

“In 2019, we did work on it and then now. We’re deploying a good number of engineers”, said Mr. Alberto.

He listed some of the key activities that will be carried out in the project to include refurbishing of the technical building, replacement of the fire-fighting and deluge sprinkler systems, refurbishing of 24 offsite tanks, replacement of electrical equipment in substation, installation of primary earthing integration and new lighting system.

Maire Technimont SPA’s Representative added the project would also involve the replacement of pumps, turbines, one expander, boilers, three compressor fans and blowers, tanks, vessel and drums among other items equipment.