Technocrat Media, Port-Harcourt
Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva has said the Port Harcourt refinery is to start refining 60,000 barrels of crude per stream day in the first quarter of 2023.
He made the disclosure while on the of facilities in Eleme, Rivers on Tuesday.
Mr Sylva who had in his entourage, the managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, and others said, the maintenance of the refinery is in order and would resume operations in Q1 of 2023.
“This project kicked off second quarter last year, and where they are now is quite impressive. It is on schedule,” Sylva said.
“The commitment is to deliver 60,000 barrels per day from this refinery by the first quarter of next year, and, of course, we are quite happy.
He noted that the federal government is working to end all forms of illegal oil bunkering going on in the Niger Delta.
The minister said the modular refinery programme of the FG was also on course, urging people to take advantage of the programme.
The minister added that the modular refinery should be separated from the illegal oil refining taking place in the Niger Delta, which is causing a soot pandemic in the state.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had inaugurated a modular refinery in Imo state last year.
He added that similar projects were currently ongoing in other parts of the country, including Rivers state.
“When people begin to equate modular refinery with the criminality that is going, I think they don’t go together,” the minister said.
“The criminality should be taken on. What is going on in Port Harcourt and some of these areas causing problem is a criminal activity, and we cannot legalise that criminal activity.”
“We must stop that activity by law enforcement and that has started. The programme of starting a modular refinery had always been on.”
“Any law-abiding Nigerian who wants to invest in this area can access funding and the licenses from the federal government.”
In 2021, as reported by TheCable, the NNPC) commenced the rehabilitation of the refinery following approval of the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation exercise by the federal executive council (FEC).
[TheCable]
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