Port Harcourt Refinery Finally Resumes Crude Oil Processing

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ltd in Rivers State has officially resumed crude oil processing marking a crucial step in tackling Nigeria’s persistent fuel supply challenges

Femi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), announced the development on Tuesday, November 26 describing the resumption as a monumental achievement for the country.

Soneye congratulated the President Bola Tinubu, the NNPC Board, and NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, for their leadership and dedication to the project. He also announced that truck loading operations would begin immediately, adding that the NNPCL is focused on bringing the Warri Refinery back online in the near future.

The resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery comes after several missed deadlines. When he took office in August 2023, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, had projected that the refinery would restart in December of that year.

In March 2024, NNPCL’s Mele Kyari revised the timeline, stating that production would begin in April. Despite the delays Kyari remained confident about the future of Nigeria’s refining capacity.