PH Refinery Receives 1m Barrel Crude Oil, Gets License for Take-Off

Following the mechanical completion of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery in December, last year, a total of one million barrels of crude oil has been supplied to the plant by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) as refining of petroleum products from the facility is set to commence.

The NNPCL is pushing for a phased commencement following the increase pressure for the plant to start production before the end of the year.

The NNPCL is looking at August as possible date of the partial commencement of full refining activities.

The one million barrels of crude oil were supplied to the refinery in two tranches with the latest coming in last Wednesday.

About 170 litres of refined petroleum products can be obtained from a barrel of crude oil. This implies that the one million barrels supplied by the NNPC to the Port Harcourt refinery can provide an estimated 170 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol and other refined products.

The license for the refinery had been issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The PHRC rehabilitation project, which costs about $1.5bn, is a national project that covers Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and commissioning phases.

SOURCE: Daily Trust