Legislators applaud NNPC for progress on Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation work

*The Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum, Downstream, following an oversight visit, says it is excited at the appreciable level of ongoing rehabilitation work at Port Harcourt Refining Company plants, in Rivers State

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Satisfied with the progressive level of rehabilitation effort in line with the approved project timelines, Hon. Abdullahi Gaya, Chairman of Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum, Downstream, has expressed optimism that rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) plants will be completed on schedule.

ConsumerConnect learnt Hon. Gaya, who gave this impression during an oversight visit of the Committee Members to the Port Harcourt Refinery, said the visit was informed by the need for the Federal lawmakers to assess ‘firsthand’ the level and quality of work done so far.

Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director/CEO of NNPC Limited

The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Petroleum, Downstream noted that was necessary to ensure that there is value for money in the execution of the project for the good of the country.

Members of the Committee, Gaya stated, also wanted to ascertain if the work was progressing according to timelines to facilitate timely completion of the project, and to check if there was a need for further intervention for the general benefit of the Nigerian consumers, agency report said.

The lawmaker said that the Committee was excited at the appreciable level of activity going on in the plant, especially when compared to level of work during the committee’s visit in 2020.

According to Gaya, with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) now in force, and the presidential directive for its full implementation within a year, it is expected that the downstream sector would now be independent.

Earlier, Ahmed Dikko, Managing Director of PHRC, who conducted the Committee members round the plants, said the rehabilitation project was aimed at restoring the plant to a minimum of 90 percent nameplate capacity utilisation.

Dikko explained that the scope of the rehabilitation project, which will last for 44 months, cuts across Process Areas 1, 2, 3 (NPHR) and 5 (OPHR); Power Plant and Utilities; Offsites; Jetty; Wastewater Treatment Plant; Distributed Control System (DCS); Emergency Shut Down (ESD) and Fire & Gas System (FGS); Technical Buildings; Non-Technical Buildings and Pipelines Repairs, etc.

PHRC rehabilitation adheres to Health Safety and Environment (HSE) standards: Dikko

In regard to Health Safety and Environment (HSE) statistics, the Managing Director of PHRC noted over 150,000 man-hours had already been achieved on the project with zero lost time injury, zero fatality and zero damage to property.

House of Representatives in Abuja, FCT   Photo: Julius Berger

Dikko further informed the Federal lawmakers that the contractor is complying with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Development Act, as there is active participation of Nigerian companies as sub-contractors in the rehabilitation project.

MoU was signed between the contractor and the Community Leaders to boost cordial relationship between the company and the host communities, detailing expectations by the communities from the contractor, said he.

Dikko said there was zero unrest so far due to the robust community relation engagement between Owner/Contractor and the host communities in the state.

He also noted that the PHRC Rehabilitation is in three phases: The First Phase is the Old Refinery, Area 5 scheduled to be completed in April 2023.

The Second Phase is Area 1 and 2 scheduled to be completed December 2023 and the Phase 11 scheduled to be completed by December, 2024.

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