Refinery Revamp: NNPCL's Bold Move to Revitalize Port Harcourt

NNPCL Eyes Blending Plant for Port Harcourt Refinery

PHRC is desirously of procuring high RON gasoline from your company to blend...

Port Harcourt Refinery Update: NNPCL Refutes Blending Plant Rumors, Seeks Petrol Cargo Deliveries

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) continues to struggle with the turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC), despite numerous promises to complete its rehabilitation. An insider revealed that the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor faces significant challenges.

These challenges include:

• Outdated equipment
• Widespread corrosion
• Missing baseline data for structural integrity checks
• Lack of as-built data, crucial for understanding the facility's operational history

Consequently, the refinery remains non-operational, failing to produce petroleum products. To prevent prolonged inactivity, NNPCL is exploring alternative strategies.

One option under consideration, as indicated by documents, is converting the refinery into a blending plant. This potential solution aims to optimize the facility's utilization and ensure some level of productivity.

A blending plant differs significantly from a refinery. While a refinery processes crude oil, a blending plant combines re-refined oil (treated used motor oil) with additives to produce finished lubricants.

In a recent development, a memo dated August 27 shows that Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) reached out to NNPC Trading Limited, an NNPCL subsidiary, to explore petrol supply options.

The memo states: “PHRC is desirously of procuring high RON gasoline from your company to blend with Naphtha produced from our 60,000bpd refinery (Area 5 plants).” 

Specifically, PHRC requested:

• Two cargoes of petrol
• Research Octane Number (RON) of 94 per cargo

This inquiry suggests PHRC is considering alternative operations, potentially converting the refinery into a blending plant.

The Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) scheduled two cargo deliveries of 28 kilotonnes (KT) each for the second week of September and the first week of October at Okrika Jetty in Port Harcourt.

According to a PHRC representative, “Due to the draft limitations at PHRC Okrika Jetty (9.2 meters) the maximum cargo size is 30KT.”

However, regarding rumors of converting the refinery into a blending plant, the national oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), denied such plans. NNPCL stated that a blending plant does not align with its business model, dispelling speculation about the refinery's potential conversion.

“Similarly, there are no plans to import off-spec RON 94 for blending. As for the PH refinery, NNPC Ltd, together with its engineers and partners, is working tirelessly to complete the commissioning of the old refinery, while rehabilitation efforts for the new refinery are still underway,” Sonenye, spokesperson of the national oil company, said.