HURRAY! Port Harcourt refinery to begin aviation fuel production

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) has announced its readiness to commence the production of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) popularly known as aviation fuel.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says this is part of efforts to reposition the refinery for profitability, in line with the 12-point agenda of the management of the NNPC.

Bafred Enjugu, managing director of PHRC, disclosed this in a presentation made to the Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, during an official tour of the 210,000 barrels per day facility.

This is coming at a time when the Nigerian aviation sector has been groaning, under the pains, inflicted by lack  of aviation fuel.

Just on Wednesday, Arik Air, famed  as the biggest indigenous airline in west Africa, said it is scaling down its operations, due to aviation fuel scarcity.

“With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone,” Arik said in a statement.

International airlines, Kenyan Airways and Fly Emirates inclusive, have also lodged the same complaints regarding fuel scarcity.

Fly Emirates went on to say it was refuelling its Abuja-bound flights in Accra, Ghana, due to the biting scarcity in Africa’s biggest economy.

In a statement signed by Ndu Ughamadu, group general manager, NNPC public affairs division, Enjugu said the refinery has met all the international parameters for the production of aviation fuel.

“The good news from our stand point is that we have scored 24 out of the 24 parameters for the production of aviation fuel and I must say that this is made possible because of the never-give-up attitude of workers of the great PHRC,” he said.

Enjugu said the refinery has successfully blended ATK and was only waiting for appropriate conditions to commence full scale production of the product in response to demand of the aviation sector.

With Port Harcourt refinery producing aviation fuel, its may be a new dawn for Nigeria’s ailing aviation sector.

Speaking at the event, Baru described PHRC as the nation’s flagship refining company, noting that the corporation would do everything possible to ensure that the refinery was not just in operation but also operating profitably and contributing effectively to meeting local demand for petroleum products in line with its vision and mission.

“We cannot under-estimate the importance of refining because that is our identity and we shall do whatever it takes to ensure that your two plants are running at all times and work to tackle whatever could militate against your achieving set targets and objectives,” he said at a meeting with staff members of the refinery.

The GMD promised to complete all ongoing gas infrastructure projects as part of measures to boost the nation’s economy.

Baru gave this commitment during a one day working visit to three of the corporation’s Strategic Business Units, the Nigerian Gas Processing Transportation Company (NGPTC), the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) in Warri, Delta State.

He said the NGPTC and NGMC were particularly important in the aggressive drive to provide gas for power generation and industries to propel the nation’s economic growth.

According to him, NGPTC is expected to drive the gas infrastructure projects such as the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System II (ELPS II), Obrikom-Obiafu-Oben (OB-3), Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and the expansion of the eastern gas network to completion as well as maintain the operation of the existing network.

He stated that in the coming years, both NGPTC and NGMC would focus more on gas processing activities to enhance their growth opportunities.

The NNPC helmsman noted that the country was technically in recession and was looking up to NNPC to be more aggressive in generating funds to help pull it out of the predicament.

He enjoined staff of the Corporation to remain focused and ensure efficiency, transparency and excellent service delivery to customers.

The in-house leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in the subsidiaries assured the GMD and his management team of their loyalty and support to ensure the successful implementation of the management’s 12-point agenda.