By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Tuesday, November 26, announced that the Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced operations.
Its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, disclosed this in a message to The Nation.
He said, “A Historic Milestone: Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Operations. Today marks a monumental achievement for Nigeria as the Port Harcourt Refinery officially commences crude oil processing.”
Here are a few things to know about the refinery:
1. The Refinery situated in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, has been in operation since 1965. The Alesa Eleme refinery complex is situated in Rivers State, Nigeria, approximately 25 kilometres east of Port Harcourt.
2. In March 2021, the Nigerian government approved a $1.5 billion budget for the renovation and modernisation of the refinery complex.
3. Each of the four turbogenerators in the refinery complex can generate 14 MW of electricity per hour, and each of the four boilers can produce 120 t of steam per hour.
4. The government hired Maire Tecnimont of Italy to oversee the refinery complex’s scoping, while oil firm Eni was named as the technical consultant. The refinery was closed in March 2019 for the first phase of repairs.
5. The Refinery plant begins trucking out of products today, Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
6. It is one of the three owned by the Federal Government and managed by the NNPC.
The Nation