The outdated Port Harcourt refinery may resume operations at brief discover, with rehabilitation work now largely full, in response to the President of the Petroleum and Pure Gasoline Senior Workers Affiliation of Nigeria, Festus Osifo.
Talking on Tuesday throughout a tv programme on Tuesday, Osifo mentioned the power has been restored to about 90 per cent capability and may very well be switched again on inside every week if the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm Restricted offers the go-ahead.
He indicated that whereas the plant is technically match to run, industrial viability stays the important thing issue guiding the corporate’s determination.
“As of in the present day, you can begin the outdated Port Harcourt refinery, and it’ll perform. You possibly can put it on in the present day, and it’ll perform. Nevertheless, NNPCL as an organization is there to make a revenue. So, in the event that they wish to begin it in the present day, inside the subsequent one week, they will convey it again to life,” Osifo mentioned.
The labour chief defined that regardless of the in depth repairs carried out on the power, there are considerations that refining operations may nonetheless end in losses, significantly as a result of excessive price of crude relative to the income anticipated from refined merchandise.
“It has been rehabilitated as much as about 90 per cent. However the problem is that in case you feed crude oil price, say, 5 million {dollars} into the outdated Port Harcourt refinery, what you’re prone to get on the different finish whenever you promote the petroleum merchandise could also be about 4.5 million {dollars}. So, you place in 5 million {dollars} as enter and get 4.5 million {dollars} as output.”
Even so, Osifo dismissed options that funds dedicated to the venture have been wasted. He mentioned main elements throughout the refinery have been upgraded or changed throughout the overhaul.
“The cash that was thrown into the Port Harcourt refinery isn’t a loss. In the event you have a look at the outdated Port Harcourt refinery, virtually all of the compressors have been modified, the management rooms have been modified, and the panels have been all modified. The contractors didn’t take them away,” he mentioned.
In response to him, the general price of the plant has risen considerably in comparison with its pre-rehabilitation state.
“In reality, in case you worth the refinery in the present day, it is going to be far more worthwhile than the state it was in earlier than the rehabilitation,” Osifo mentioned.
The Port Harcourt Refining Firm had earlier resumed operations in November 2024 following refurbishment works however was shut down once more in Could 2025 as a result of operational setbacks. Production actions on the website stay suspended for now.