Port Harcourt Refinery Update: NNPCL Clarifies Launch Timeline

NNPCL Provides Progress Report on Port Harcourt Refinery

“When the distillation is started, the temperature is raised over time and rises to as high as 300 degrees centigrade...”

NNPCL defends Port Harcourt Refinery timeline, citing industry standards and comparisons to Dangote Refinery's 16-month production ramp-up.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that the Port Harcourt Refinery is poised to commence petrol production soon. This update was shared by Adedapo Segun, Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPCL, during a recent address in Lagos.

According to Segun, the refinery's revitalization efforts are progressing as scheduled, paving the way for the resumption of petroleum production. This development marks a significant milestone in Nigeria's quest for energy self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on imported fuel.

NNPCL's Segun dismissed notions of underperformance, citing the refinery's brownfield project characteristics, which inherently introduce additional layers of complexity.

“We gave our projections based on data available. The Port Harcourt refinery, a brownfield refinery, achieved mechanical completion last December and by August, we fired up the burners, meaning the distillation process has started. So, the Port Harcourt refinery has started the distillation process, but yet to produce products to tank specification at the moment,” Segun said.

Segun highlighted that unexpected challenges can arise, causing delays and disruptions to the project timeline, sometimes necessitating a return to previous stages.

“When the distillation is started, the temperature is raised over time and rises to as high as 300 degrees centigrade. At this stage, if anything goes wrong, because at 300 degrees, a lot can go wrong, you have to bring it down; you can't intervene. It could be that the flames or the burner are not at the level at which it should be, because maybe the burner is clogged. You don't go in there and unclog it at 300 degrees centigrade; you bring it to cool down, clean it up, you put it back, you start heating it up again. We've done this four times since August at the Port Harcourt refinery, and each time a different thing comes up. We have to bring it down to fix it. I'm very confident now that we are at that point now where I'm very, very confident all is set,” he explained.

Segun further illustrated his point by contrasting the Port Harcourt Refinery's complexities with the Dangote Refinery, a greenfield project, which has a more straightforward development process.

“Dangote Refinery achieved mechanical completion in May last year, started producing diesel (AGO) in March this year, which is about 10 months after. Port Harcourt Refinery, a brownfield refinery that we have rehabilitated, not a brand new refinery like Dangote refinery achieved mechanical completion in December and this is September, and we're hoping to start producing middle distillates. The same middle distillates that Dangote refinery started producing in March, April, we're working towards producing it in September. Have we been inefficient? That's the question we need to ask ourselves,” the NNPCL official said.

Segun pointed out that Dangote Refinery required 16 months to commence petrol production after its mechanical completion in May 2023. Therefore, he argued, it's unfair to label the Port Harcourt Refinery as a failure for not producing petrol within nine months of its own mechanical completion.

"This is still nine months. But there's a need to be fair in our expectations. We can set the range of when we think it (production) will happen. But this is a process that has to go through. It's a process you can't say, because I've said, I'm going to, I'm going to start producing in December, in January, or in March and there's an issue with the process, and you just say, No, I'm not going to go through the process of getting things right. I'm just going to jump in and get this, get things going again. Safety is very important, and that's why I do all I can to keep the people on the plants, away from the pressures someone is working in an environment that is in excess of 300 degrees.

“We're optimistic. We believe that Port Harcourt Refinery will start producing middle distillates to tank this month. And we've said that before. We still believe that we've gone through since all since August. We've started firing up the burners again after we brought it down last night to fix something. This was thankfully, an easy fix, and we are going to start eating it up again. So that's basically is what's going on with Port Harcourt refinery.

“But I'm very optimistic that products from the refinery will go to tank this month. When you say that, you're saying that because of what you see, if something unexpected happens, we can't say because I've set a time now force the process; nobody forces any process at 300 degrees centigrade,” Segun said