Test runs at the 60,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt refinery are scheduled to conclude this month, according to a release from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.
“Testing will soon come to an end, guaranteeing the refinery’s smooth functioning. That phase would be finished this month, a NNPC spokeswoman named Femi Soneye told Reuters.
The test run, Soneye continued, was a significant step toward starting up again five years after the factory was down.
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The facility’s Area-5 Plant’s mechanical repair work was completed, the state-owned oil firm stated in December.
It stated that the plant’s initial phase had been finished and that, following the Christmas break, 60,000 barrels of crude oil will be refined per day.
The first phase of the PHRC was finished on December 20, 2023, according to Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), who also mentioned that production of refined goods would start after the holidays.
When operational, it is anticipated that the facility will lessen the strain on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, especially in conjunction with the Dangote Refinery, which is anticipated to begin refining oil this year.
According to analysts and downstream operators, there won’t be a significant price collapse even though the cost of refined products would decrease once these facilities begin pumping, according to The PUNCH.