The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed its readiness to start refining crude oil at the Port Harcourt refinery in early August. This announcement was made by NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, on Monday during an emergency session with the National Assembly's joint committee on finance.

Kyari clarified that the Port Harcourt refinery will begin production by early August this year, while the Kaduna refinery is expected to start operations by December 2024. Previously, Kyari had set the kick-off date for the Port Harcourt refinery for two weeks from March 2024. He reaffirmed the new August date, emphasizing that he had not been deceptive about the timeline.

He also stated that with the addition of the Dangote refinery, Nigeria aims to reach a production target of two million barrels per day and become a net exporter of petroleum products by December.

The Port Harcourt refinery complex includes two refineries located at Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt in Rivers State. Port Harcourt II, a complex conversion refinery with a distillation capacity of 7,500,000 MTA (150,000 bpd), started operations in 1988. Initially designed as an export refinery, it has been repurposed to serve the domestic market due to frequent supply interruptions from Nigeria’s other three refineries. Port Harcourt II is capable of producing clean fuels, including lead-free gasoline.

Senior officials at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPCL disclosed on Saturday that the refinery is undergoing various licensing processes after receiving crude supply following its mechanical completion in December 2023. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, confirmed that the refinery is in its final rehabilitation stage.

"The mechanical work at the Port Harcourt refinery has been completed, and crude oil has been sent to the plant. The remaining steps involve licensing and similar processes, which follow specific timeframes," explained a petroleum ministry official who requested anonymity. "Officials responsible for issuing these licenses are currently inspecting the plant. These inspections are thorough and conducted at their own pace, as they must ensure the integrity and safety of the refinery. They also need to test-run the plant. Many of the inspectors are foreign, and they can't be rushed."

In March this year, Kyari announced that the Port Harcourt refinery had received 450,000 barrels of crude oil and was set to begin operations in April, although this did not materialize. He made this statement during a press briefing after appearing before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.

“We achieved mechanical completion of the refinery as we stated in December. Crude oil is already stocked in the refinery, and we are conducting regulatory compliance tests, which are necessary for every refinery before starting operations. I assure you that the Port Harcourt refinery will start within the next two weeks,” Kyari stated. “Completing the mechanical work means the rehabilitation work is finished; now we must test the systems. We have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery, which is undergoing regulatory compliance processes. The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. Although we haven't reached that stage in Kaduna yet, we promise it will be delivered by December.”