NNPCL to complete test run of P’Harcourt Refinery this month

The PortHarcourt 60,000-bpd Petrochemical and Refinery test run will be completed this month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL has disclosed.

“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” Reuters quoted NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, as saying.

The Spokesman said, the test run was a major step in the right direction as the Refinery was set to resume full production after five years that it was shut down.

The state-owned oil company announced in December the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area-5 Plant of the facility.

It said the first phase of the plant had been completed, as the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after the Christmas break.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated that the first phase of the PHRC was completed on December 20, 2023, adding that refined products’ production would commence after the Yuletide.

It is expected that once functional, alongside the Dangote Refinery which is expected to start oil refining this year, the facility will ease the pressure on the country’s foreign exchange.