Port Harcourt Refinery to Begin Operation Before Year-end, Says Senate Committee

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

An ad-hoc committee of the Senate investigating the turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries has said the Port Harcourt Refinery will begin operation before the end of December 2024.

This is coming as the Rivers State Governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that his administration is working in line with President Bola Tinubu-led federal government’s policies designed to make life better for Nigerians through the Renewed Hope Agenda.

In his presentation when the members of the committee visited the Port Harcourt Refinery yesterday, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah said they had visited the Warri Refinery on Thursday, stressing that they were in Port Harcourt to investigate the work that has been done and assess the level of preparedness of both the old and new Port Harcourt Refinery to recommence operations.

He stated: “We will recall that the old Port Harcourt Refinery was the first refinery in Nigeria built in 1965 and the second one in 1989. And for so long now, they have not been in active operations.

“And with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President, and also the desire of Nigerians and our determination; the Senate led by our President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, we had a resolution in the Senate to look at it and make sure that Nigeria’s refineries are working so that we shouldn’t be depending on importation of petroleum products.

“And that is one of the reasons that we are here, as well to look into the contract and investigate the level of compliance vis-a-vis the contract specifications.”

 Ubah said: “We are pleased to note that what we saw is most encouraging as the refinery upgrade and full rehabilitation is almost at 90 per cent completed.

“We are confident that the refinery will soon be operational before the end of the year.”

Speaking when the committee paid him a courtesy visit, Fubara noted that the Woji-Aleto-Alesa-Refinery Road, which is 70 per cent completed, is being constructed to provide a bypass for easy access to the Port Harcourt Refinery and ease traffic on the East-West Road.

According to a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara said the purpose of governance was to make life easy for the people.

He expressed delight that the Senate committee’s investigation would make life easy and meaningful for Nigerians.

The statement read: “We, as a state, before the commencement of the rehabilitation job, had a contribution that we wanted to make to support the work at the refinery because of the deplorable state of the East-West Road.

“There is a road: Woji-Aleto-Alesa Refinery Road. We are almost completing the bridge. It’s about 70 per cent completed. We are doing almost the last part of it. With that road, it will help to decongest and reduce the trouble commuters face along the East-West Road while providing easy access, straight to the refinery.

“So, you can see that our government is working in line, supporting the Administration of President Bola Tinubu to give our people hope and assurance that things will soon get better.”