Procurement process for Port Harcourt refinery 98% complete, says PHRC MD

Ibrahim Onoja, managing director (MD), Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), says procurement process for the rehabilitation of the refiner is 98 percent complete.

The federal government had said the Port Harcourt refinery would begin operations by December 2023.

Speaking on Thursday during a broadcast programme on Arise TV, he said the December 2023 deadline is feasible.

He said the refinery will come on stream soon and it will be very competitive. 

“Basic markers for a major project like this is the delivery of your long lead items. We have items here that we have installed in the plant that took 18 months to manufacture,” he said.

He said the items — including boilers and pumps —  are now available at the site. 

“So our long lead items are on site, instrumentations are on site. We’ve completed most of the procurement that we need to do,” Onoja said. 

“The procurement, we have gone over 98 percent; most of them are now delivered and they are on site. 

“The piping work we are doing, we have progressed extensively. For electricity, we have had most of our cable laying done. Many of our substations have been energised. 

“So, when I say December is feasible, yes. So, that makes me much more comfortable. For the construction, that is a part that I am finishing now. And that is the part for the old refinery, I’ll have it ready by December 2023.” 

Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), had said the Kaduna refinery will begin operation by the end of 2024 while the Warri refinery will come on stream by the end of the first quarter of 2024.