Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has stated that the April 2023 completion date for the Port Harcourt refinery’s restoration is achievable, and that the plant will be able to process 60,000 barrels of oil by early next year.
The minister expressed pleasure with the current status of the facility’s renovations, which are expected to cost $1.5 billion.
Sylva said this following a visit to the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Eleme, Rivers State, while fielding questions from reporters.
“This initiative began in the second quarter of last year, and where they are today is extremely outstanding,” he remarked. It is running on time.
“We’ve agreed to supply 60, 000 barrels per day from this refinery by the first quarter of next year, and we’re delighted with that.”
The minister also stated that the Federal Government will prohibit all sorts of illicit oil bunkering in the Niger Delta, claiming that such criminal operations should not be legalised.
Sylva said the Nigerian Government’s modular refinery initiative was on track and advised people to take advantage of it.
“We’ve agreed to supply 60, 000 barrels per day from this refinery by the first quarter of next year, and we’re delighted with that.”
The minister also stated that the Federal Government will prohibit all sorts of illicit oil bunkering in the Niger Delta, claiming that such criminal operations should not be legalised.
However, he believes that the modular refinery should be kept distinct from the illicit oil refining that is taking place in the Niger Delta, which is causing the soot epidemic in Port Harcourt and its surrounds.
President Muhammadu Buhari, he said, had inaugurated a modular refinery in Imo State last year, and that similar projects were underway in other regions of the nation, including Rivers State.
“When individuals,” Sylva continued, “legal enforcement must halt that action, and that has begun.” The plan to build a modular refinery has always been in the works.
“The Federal Government may provide financing and permits to any law-abiding Nigerian who wishes to invest in this field.”
