The Federal Government says the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company in Rivers State has begun operations.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who led members of the Refinery Steering Committee to inspect the facility, hailed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Nigerians for the feat.
The Federal Government said that the facility began operations on Wednesday, 20th December, 2023, following the completion of the first phase of work at the plant.
According to the Minister, refined petroleum products would start flowing from the refinery after the Christmas break.
Nigeria’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri have been dormant for years, as the Federal Government has spent several billions of naira to revamp the facilities without success.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, confirmed that employees of the company worked day and night for over 9.6 million man-hours to get the refinery back on stream.
Recall that the government had earlier in the year repeatedly declared that the Port Harcourt refinery would begin operations before the end of 2023.
Amb. Ikediala C N Bob.
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