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Tag: Port Harcourt refinery

  • CSOs to assess status of Port Harcourt refinery January

    CSOs to assess status of Port Harcourt refinery January

    The National Civil Society Coalition of Nigeria (NCSCN) has announced plans to conduct an independent assessment of the Port Harcourt Refinery in January 2025.

    According to the coalition, a 50-member delegation comprising strategic stakeholders and civil society leaders has been selected to undertake the visit.

    The Executive Director of the council, Mr. Blessing Akinlosotu, explained that the visit aims to engage the refinery’s management and provide Nigerians with verified information on its production capacity and operational performance.

    In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, Akinlosotu emphasized that the findings from this “strategic working visit” would be made publicly accessible to Nigerians and international interest groups to ensure transparency.

    Recall that the inauguration of the 60,000 barrel-per-day production capacity plant by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, was met with celebration and fanfare.

    The organisation insisted that the recently refurbished Port Harcourt Refinery (PHRC) was operational, up and running.

    It urged Nigerians to see through “these lies and support the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL’s) efforts towards improving local production of petroleum products.

    The statement reads: “We at the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) have become very worried over the continued peddling of falsehood against the NNPC Ltd and the recently refurbished Port Harcourt Refinery (PHRC) which we have confirmed to be operational, up and running.

    “It would be recalled that, the NNPC Ltd, just a few days ago in an historic achievement, announced having exceeded its set profit projection for year 2024.The firm declared a whooping N3.29 Trillion, the highest in its history so far.

    “While this great news and milestone is being celebrated, it appears there is calculated media propaganda to be-cloud this feat, detract, and discredit the laudable operations at the PH Refinery.

    “Available and verifiable information show that the PHRC is fully operational and delivering efficiently. It then poses a big question why some people are attempting to mislead the public with this non-operational narrative. 

    “Nigerians desired functional Refineries to alleviate sufferings of the people occasioned by incessant scarcity of Petroleum Products, especially during festive season, of which NNPCL and the PHRC have contributed immensely.

    “This entire negative narrative might just be part of the broader strategy and politics in the industry to fight competition.

    “NCSCN reaffirms for the Records that the PHRC is fully up and running. Therefore, this current attempt by some saboteurs and their media cohorts is totally unacceptable.

    “It can be seen that across the country within this yuletide season, there is remarkable stability in supplies and distribution of petroleum products at stipulated prices, unlike previous years. This is a good testament to the leadership competence at the NNPCL, coupled with the functionality of the PHRC.

    “The Civil Society Council, therefore, calls on Nigerians to see through these lies and support NNPCL’s efforts towards improving local production of petroleum products.”

  • NNPC rejects claims, confirms Port Harcourt refinery operational

    NNPC rejects claims, confirms Port Harcourt refinery operational

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL) has insisted that the renovated Port Harcourt refinery is still working.

    The state-owned oil giant clarified that preparations for loading operations on Saturday were underway.

    This was contained in a statement by Olufemi Soneye, the NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, on Saturday.

    Soneye was reacting to a report that the refinery had stopped loading petroleum products barely one month after it was declared open.

    According to him, the refinery is fully operational, as verified a few days ago by former NNPC Group Managing Directors. .

    Some media reports claimed less than a month after the Port Harcourt Refining Company appeared to have resumed production, the facility had stopped working.

    Reacting, Soneye said preparation for today’s loading was ongoing at the time of sending out the statement.

    “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

    “We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.

    “Preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing,” he said in the statement.

    He urged members of the public to disregard the report saying the malicious reports were the work of individuals attempting to create artificial scarcity and exploit Nigerians.

    “Members of the public are advised to discountenance such reports as they are the figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians,” he stressed.

    Olatunji Grace, a social media user with the handle @Tunjigrace, expressed frustration, questioning the intentions of those who wish for things to go wrong in Nigeria. 

    She criticised individuals who discredit positive developments, stating, “Who are these people? 

    Does any other nation have such unfortunate citizens who pray for failure?”

     She also expressed disappointment in a report by a leading media outfit describing it as “devilish and stupid journalism” that hides behind the guise of a “report.”

    Another user, Patrick @Williamskane4, accused news media organisations of working with opposition political parties to spread fake news and misinformation.

    He stated, “In collaboration with some opposition political parties, they spread lies, making propaganda their trade.”

    Meanwhile, another user, Sarki @Waspapping_, defended the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s operations, stating that the refinery is fully functional.

    He questioned why some individuals and media outlets were spreading false narratives about shortages, claiming they aimed to exploit Nigerians.

    Sarki emphasised that such misinformation benefits those who profit from scarcity and high prices and urged Nigerians to see through the lies and support local production efforts.

    For decades, efforts to revive the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) seemed insurmountable. However, under Mele Kyari’s leadership, the once-elusive goal has been realised, signalling a critical step toward achieving energy self-sufficiency. This success is not only a milestone for the NNPCL but a testament to Kyari’s resolve to transform Nigeria’s energy landscape.

    The Port Harcourt Refinery Company in Eleme is a sprawling facility divided into a 60,000-barrel-per-day-old refinery, and a new one capable of refining 150,000 barrels per day. The old refinery, operational since 1965, is Nigeria’s first refinery and had remained idle since 1990 when the newer unit became the primary production hub.

    After over 30 years of dormancy, the old Port Harcourt refinery, which has a unique configuration where one barrel of crude oil yields a maximum of 23–24 per cent gasoline, was recently reopened by the NNPC Limited amid shock by forces against the revival of the country’s four refineries.  

    After the $1.5 billion approved by the Federal Government in 2021 for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the refinery had been judiciously spent, the NNPCL under Kyari’s sound leadership, reopened the Old Port Harcourt Refinery on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

    Today, the old Port Harcourt refinery is currently producing straight-run gasoline (Naphtha) blended into 1.4 million liters of PMS daily; 900,000 liters of kerosene; 1.5 million liters of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel); 2.1 million liters of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), and additional volumes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas.

    Attempts by sceptics to rubbish the achievement recorded with the 60,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt refinery had been roundly repudiated by the NNPCL, workers at the refinery, experts, and delegates from the Presidency, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.

  • Port Harcourt Refinery fully operational, NNPCL insists

    Port Harcourt Refinery fully operational, NNPCL insists

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has affirmed that the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) is fully operational.

    This was disclosed in a statement issued by the NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.

    The rejoinder said: “Port-Harcourt Refinery Fully Operational

    The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

    “We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.Preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing.

    “Members of the public are advised to discountenance such reports as they are the figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”

  • Port Harcourt Refinery is revitalized, ready for growth – Onanuga

    Port Harcourt Refinery is revitalized, ready for growth – Onanuga

    The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has addressed ongoing concerns about the state of the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex following a fact-finding mission on Wednesday. 

    Onanuga, part of a delegation that inspected the facility, described it as a transformed, functional operation working steadily toward full capacity.

    The delegation was conducted on a comprehensive tour of the facility, including its computerised control room, loading bay, and other critical sections, by the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Ibrahim Onoja. 

    Onanuga reported that the team raised key concerns about the refinery’s operations and received reassuring answers from officials on-site.

    He said contrary to circulating rumours, the refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans for a gradual increase in production. 

    Onanuga also confirmed that crude oil is being supplied regularly to the facility, debunking claims of shortages.

    The refinery is producing a range of petroleum products, including kerosene, low-pour fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, and gasoline. 

    Samples of these products were tested during the visit, further affirming the refinery’s operational status.

    According to Onanuga, a significant overhaul has modernized the once-aging facility, saying upgraded infrastructure includes parts that had remained unchanged for 27 years, as well as sections of a newly installed 300-kilometre pipeline network. 

    The improvements have elevated the refinery to modern standards, he noted.

    The fact-finding team also inspected the co-located refinery, commissioned in 1989, where workers were actively replacing old components. 

    Read Also: Port Harcourt Refinery is working, says PENGASSAN

    While officials refrained from providing a completion timeline, Onanuga expressed optimism about its imminent operational readiness.

    Commending the efforts of NNPC Limited and the refinery team, Onanuga stated that the revitalization has rescued the facility from obsolescence. 

    He urged Nigerians to disregard misinformation about the refinery’s state, asserting that it is on track to becoming a fully restored national asset.

    Onanuga concluded by declaring the fact-finding mission a success, putting to rest widespread doubts about the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex and its future.

  • Port Harcourt Refinery is working, says PENGASSAN

    Port Harcourt Refinery is working, says PENGASSAN

    …calls for completion of rehabilitation, privatisation of refineries

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Tuesday confirmed that the recently reopened Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) is producing petrol, diesel, kerosene, and other products.

    Its president, Comrade Festus Osifo made this known at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja.

    Asked to confirm the arguments about whether the facility is producing or not to rest, he said the association being part of the steering committee knows every beat of progress in the rehabilitation process.

    He urged people to be interested in the product and not in the process of turning out the materials from the plant.

    Osifo explained the ongoing refining process in the facility and stressed “So when they blend this, it gives us PMS. But what we should be interested in, as material, is that does Port Harcourt refinery produces AGO today. The answer is yes.

    Read Also: Port Harcourt refinery resumes full operations after brief scale down

    “Does Port Harcourt Refinery produce DPK today? The answer is yes.

    Does Port Harcourt Refinery produce PMS today? The answer is yes.

    “So the processes are not much of our concern. The man on the street does not understand what CTU is.

    “The man of the street does not understand what is classified. What the man of the street understands is PMS, kerosene, and diesel. Are we getting these from Port Harcourt? The answer is yes.”

    Osifo, who sought the completion of the rehabilitation of the refineries called for their privatization, insisting on the adoption of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

    He said the products’ prices are yet to clash because of high exchange rates.

    He raised the alarm over the high rate of expatriate quota in the oil and gas industry, including Indorama and the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB). 

  • Port Harcourt refinery resumes full operations after brief scale down

    Port Harcourt refinery resumes full operations after brief scale down

    The Port Harcourt refinery has resumed full operations after a brief ”scaling down”, Mr Ibrahim Onoja, the company’s Managing Director has said.

    Addressing newsmen after a facility tour of the refinery on Sunday night, Onoja said the facility had resued distribution of products, including Premium Motor Spirit, kerosene, and diesel.

    ”The refining plant has undergone extensive upgrades to enhance efficiency and reliability which had also impacted on production capacity.

    ”We replaced most of the equipment including pumps installation and cables.

    “The plant is running and we are trucking out our products,” he said.

    Also speaking, Mr Moyi Maidunama, the Director of Operations of the Nigeria Pipeline Storage Company(NPSC) Ltd acknowledged that there was a temporary reduction in production.

    He, however, explained that the reduction was to help address some technical issues aimed at improving the delivery capacity of the facility.

    ”We are managing the process with the number of trucks available today, using three loading arms for evacuation, this would be resolved soon.

    ”Our operations were not totally halted but reduced due to some of the improvements that we needed to make in terms of getting more loading arms operational.

    ”We have been evacuating refined petroleum products from the refinery since yesterday and its obviously going to be a continuous process,” he said.

    Mr Worlu Joel, the terminal manager, also confirmed the efficiency of the refinery, adding that it had began loading of Premium Motor Spirit, kerosene and diesel.

    According to him, the deport which has eleven functional loading bays currently uses only three due to its high efficiency.

    Read Also: PH refinery has not commenced bulk sales  – NNPC 

    He said that each of the bay evacuates as much as three trucks in 15 minutes.

    He however, expressed worries over slow turn out of tanker drivers

    ”We have suplus product. Let us sayd we have up to 100 trucks today, we will evacuate them in a five hours, Its no longer our problem, its the tanker drivers,”he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Nov. 26, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd)  said the Port Harcourt refinery had began production after a long period of rehabilitation.

    It said the refinery began truck loading of petroleum products.

    The Port Harcourt Refineries comprise two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.

    The refinery has not operated maximally for over two decades.

    It was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.

    In 2021, NNPC Ltd said repairs had started at the refinery after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved 1.5 billion dollars for the project.

    On Dec. 21, 2023, the Nigerian government announced the mechanical completion and the flare start-off of the refinery. 

    (NAN)

  • Port Harcourt Refinery: Like the Phoenix

    Port Harcourt Refinery: Like the Phoenix

     Sir: Nigerians love a feel-good story. When Chidinma Adetshina recently emerged first runner-up at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico, Nigerians rallied to celebrate. In 2022, when Sprint Queen, Tobi Amusan, put Nigeria on the map of the World Championships for the first time ever, Nigerians were united in their celebrations. The same frenzied celebrations were displayed when Hilda Baci cooked her way into the history books in May 2023.

    This often rapturous celebration of feats which warm the cockles of the heart can partly be pinned down to the fact that in 64 years of independence and 25 years of democracy, Nigerians have not had a lot to cheer. Bad leadership, poverty, and recently, insecurity, have cast a permanent pall over a country that once promised so much at independence.

    At the centre of Nigeria’s problems is the fact that it has not managed its oil resources well. Exploration of oil has become a direct exploitation of the Niger Delta, and an indirect exploitation of Nigerians by a kleptocracy that has somehow kept its proboscis stuck into power.

    President Tinubu came to power with a pledge and promise to renew hope. The quest to renew hope in a country that has known hopelessness and haplessness for so long has proved a daunting task.

    But the return to operation of the Port Harcourt refinery offers hope during what is a dark period for Nigerians. It is no news that costs of living have soared to unprecedented heights, dragging with it the frustration levels of Nigeria. At the heart of the spike in cost of living which has made Nigerians very spiky is the removal of fuel subsidy. The singular removal of fuel subsidy, a decision many years in the making, which, however, was dropped like a bombshell by President Bola Tinubu on the day of his inauguration, is set go down as the defining move of this administration, for good or for bad. But it was an act of courage given its long-term prospects and the backlash it provoked from Nigerians.

    Read Also: Abia govt debunks claims on non-implementation of national minimum wage

    In the time since subsidy was removed, Dangote refinery has started operations and the Port Harcourt refinery has roared back to life after many years of coma induced by incompetence. The operation of both refineries and the revamp of other refineries in the country should change the complexion of the fuel economy in Nigeria. That can be a catalyst for easing the hardship crushing millions of Nigerian families. It may just be what the doctor ordered for Nigeria. It may just be the elixir Nigeria needs as hope is the ultimate discovery as the elixir of life.

    •Kene Obiezu,keneobiezu@gmail.com

  • Misunderstood

    Misunderstood

    Not many are happy that the Port Harcourt Refinery is back on stream. Not all humans crave prosperity. It is an aspect of the human archetype. The Israelites clamoured for redemption from Pharoah’s gulag. When it happened, they idealised their oppressor saying, at least, they had regular meals. They did not appreciate Moses and their new berth of freedom and the manna that dropped free from heaven. It recalls what Shakespeare said of drooling servants: “How fine my master is.”

    Hence, when the NNPCL announced the rebirth of the refinery, the pushback was fierce. We were not supposed to be this fortunate. Mele Kyari should not have done this to them. Bola Tinubu should not have a reason to gloat. They are a culture of complaint. They wanted a reason for tears. Joy was not part of the bargain.

    For them fortune is not fortune, unless it comes from somebody other than President Tinubu, much less from Mele Kyari whose head they have been seeking with the machete of ritualists.

    Kyari is like Nostromo, the hero in Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece who was lying down in respite after a battle. A bird of prey hovered with menacing appetite, salivating for a meal of carcass. Nostromo saw the flapping creature, and he said, “I am not dead yet.” They want Kyari as a prey of their malice.

    Read Also: Kaduna LG boss vows to tackle polio resurgence with renewed immunization 

    They did not like the video of the NNPCL chief in the PHR overall as he stood ramrod tall beside some labour partisans. He announced the first flushes of the engines, and the labour men chanted. It was a nightmare.

    They were not happy with Kyari for a number of reasons. They were not happy that on his watch, the NNPCL paid off the $2.4 billion debt with IOCs, and that proclaims the company has become debt-free. Putting NNPCL in the black is not what they want from him. They just want to paint him black. It did not make headlines. Yet, when the debts happened, they splashed the headlines and sullied talk shows on television.

    Nor are they happy that we now have moved to drilling 1.8m crude per barrel a day and 7.4 billion standard cubic feet per day in gas production. It passed the news as though it was bad omen. We are quick to remember when people err, but not to forgive. As Ghandi wrote, “the weak never forgive.” I had a dialogue with a top media fellow the other day over the crude uptick. Rather than celebrate it, he pointed out that why would you employ Tantita and Tompolo. I shot back that Tompolo, if not perfect, had led us to a milestone over and above those military men who had become stumbling stones. They love the stumbling stones, but not milestones.

    The PH Refinery has been long on the way. It was a hard journey. There were promises made and joys delayed. It is now known that sabotage played a role in  that journey, ambushes and derailments. Lately we learned that the last time it was to take off, gaskets blew. It turned out the folks at the refinery could not trust everyone in their midst, especially the security personnel.

    They had to deploy DSS officers for their eagle eyes and fealty. That was how they got to this point. Even in a matter that should help everyone, a few want us to fall. Now that we have it running, those who are not happy will have to live with the facts. After the PH rollout, I called another media topman who had written off the refineries. They argued furiously that Kyari was taking the nation on a merry-go-round. I said it would happen sooner than he expected. When it happened, I placed a gloating call to him.

    Many forget that you can only work as well as your boss allows you. Did Buhari begin the process to revamp the refinery? Of course. Was deadline sacrosanct? Of course not. But it was not Kyari’s fault. He operated according to the interest of his boss. Obasanjo may have been right to say Buhari was Baba-go-slow, but Obj was Baba-go-nowhere. He spent a golden $800 million on the refinery only to sell it off for nothing. It took a discerning “Umoru” to nullify it.

    Kyari is doing much because he is operating in an enabling environment. Even at that, it was on his watch that the NNPC instrumentalised the PIA? Was he not the one who engendered many gas infrastructure projects from Ohaji-Egbema to Oredo  to Kwale? Or the Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, or GIPP now seen as a game changer for power? Is he not in the middle of the CNG project, an arduous undertaking that requires the buy-in of all?

    The refinery news is maybe hard to absorb. It is good news but good news can be bad news for those who want us to stagnate. T.S. Eliot wrote: “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”

    Maybe they want an angel, and angels in human forms are an illusion. As poet Rilke noted, “an angel is terrible.” It is the same a certain set of critics expect of the President. They want him to be perfect so they can make him a fallible human. If they make you human, your genius may shine. Angels are no geniuses because only humans are. If you make your foes human, then you will bow to their geniuses and absorb their frailties are persons in flesh and blood. As essayist William Hazlitt wrote: “It is well that there is no one without a fault; for he would not have a friend in the world.”

    Kyari should remain human, if even his critics want him otherwise. That is perhaps why he is, perhaps, the misunderstood public servant today.

  • ‘Port Harcourt refinery loading products’

    ‘Port Harcourt refinery loading products’

    The Port Harcourt Refinery 1 at Eleme in Rivers State is still loading refined petroleum products, The Nation investigation has revealed.

    The development showed a contrast to the news carried by various establishments on the rehabilitation of the facility after over five years of inactivity.

    News broke last Tuesday that the refinery, which has the capacity to produce 60,000 barrels of products per day, had been successfully rehabilitated and that 200 trucks were loading products for distribution to various parts of the country.

    The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, was on the ground the facility during the re-opening.

    Some reports had claimed that loading activities at the facility were halted and further loading suspended almost after the launch.

    A member of the Eleme Host Communities, Timothy Mgbere, who spoke on a national television station, claimed that the refinery loaded just six trucks and not 200 trucks.

    According to him, the facility has not been fully rehabilitated and functional, insisting that the refinery had stopped further activities since the first day of the reopening.

    But during a tour of the facility yesterday, our correspondent observed that activities were ongoing at the loading bay and the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s Area 5 process plant with three trucks seen loading at the bay.

    But the usual beehive of activities at the functional tank farm areas and refineries were absent.

    The two lanes of the roads leading to the facility were deserted, unlike in the heydays of the refinery when the area was a beehive of activities.

    Read Also: 23 surprising facts about Tinubu’s Tax Reform that could change everything

    Addressing reporters at the Port Harcourt depot during the tour, Terminal Manager Chike Molukwu said the three major petroleum products were available and that product loading had not been halted since the relaunch.

    Molukwu explained that bay had the capacity to load three trucks in 15 minutes, targeting at least 100 trucks a day.

    “This is PPMC loading arm. We have 11 loading bays that are functional. They have a huge capacity to deliver. So, we are using three at the moment.

    “It is efficient. Out of the three, each one has the capacity of loading three trucks in 15 minutes. A truck is 45,000 litres minimum. We have the ones of 60,000 litres.

    “Already, we have loaded more than 10 trucks, before the close of work today. In the next one hour, we are going to evacuate a minimum of 15 trucks,” he said.

    When he was asked why there were no trucks waiting to load, as was common with tank farms and refineries, Molokwu said: “We have our loading arms operational and we have been begging them to come in since yesterday. But because today is a weekend, that is why they have not turned up. If you give us 100 trucks today, we will evacuate them in less than five hours.

    “So, it is not our problem if there no loading trucks. It is the tanker drivers’ problem. We have been begging them since yesterday to come around and take the products, but they didn’t turn up. It was just this morning, after pleading with them, that they came.”

  • CSO seeks completion of Kaduna, Warri refineries

    CSO seeks completion of Kaduna, Warri refineries

    The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria has hailed the commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery.

    The CSO acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to reforming and transforming the petroleum sector, adding that this marked a significant milestone in “our Economic Recovery.”

    It also commended the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) led by Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Management led by Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyarinfor the successful commencement of operations at the refinery.

    It however called on the NNPCL to prioritise resuming operations at the dormant Kaduna and Warri refineries.

    This, it said, will further boost Nigeria’s refining capacity and reduce reliance on imported petroleum products.

    Executive Director of the group, Blessing Akinlosotu, stated this at a press conference in Abuja yesterday.

    While welcoming the resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), he described it as a landmark achievement that marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s economic recovery.

    He said: “The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria commends the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) for surpassing its revenue targets, reaching an impressive 14 trillion naira this year. This achievement marks the highest revenue recorded by the corporation, alongside the successful re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refining Company.

    “The Council lauds the efforts of all contributors to this success, especially President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, whose visionary leadership has been instrumental in transforming the Petroleum Sector. NCSCN remains optimistic that this achievement will drive further progress, and prosperity, ensuring Energy Security for Nigeria.

    Read Also: CSO, Tinubu’s Support Group score Navy high on war against oil theft

    “Furthermore, the Council encourages NNPC Limited to continue enhancing its Corporate Social Responsibility, particularly in Host Communities, to guarantee hitch-free production.

    “The Council reaffirms our commitment to collaborating with the Government, NNPC Ltd., and other stakeholders to ensure a bright and sustainable Energy future for Nigeria.”

    According to Akinlosotu, by re-streaming the Port Harcourt refinery, NNPC Ltd has fulfilled its promise, with the first loading of petroleum products from the refinery after years of unsuccessful attempts.

    “This feat heralds a new era in Nigeria’s Energy Sector, marking a giant stride towards self-sufficiency in petroleum production and a substantial reduction in reliance on foreign imports,” Akinlosotu said.