The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream has disclosed that completing the $1.5billion Port Harcourt refinery under repairs would be achieved by April 2023.
This was disclosed by the House Committee Chairman, Abdullahi Gaya, during the committee’s visit to the Port Harcourt Refinery Company in Eleme, Rivers State, on Tuesday.
According to the lawmaker, “So far so good, we are here to see what the management of the refinery has done. Even though they said within 24-months, they will be able to complete.
“We hope within that period they will be able to finish it, but we promise ourselves in the next three months we will come back and see the progress for ourselves.
“When we came here in 2020, there was nothing, and we promised that we were going to do something, and we have done it. We are here to see if the stakeholders have any complaint in respect of the job that they have done, they should tell us,
“So we pray that next time when we come, we will see additional progress.
“The Committee carried out intensive oversight with a very thorough investigation on turnaround maintenance, where views, opinions of the operators based on their observations and experiences were sought to discover all the refinery with the view of providing a lasting solution to the problem.
“This refinery was carefully and expertly selected to be the first refinery to be suitably rehabilitated in line with the promise of the committee.
“The Petroleum Industry Bill has been assent to by Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari where he directed the implementation of the Act within a year.”
Gaya said the President’s order would assist in gaining the independence of the downstream petroleum sector in line with international best practices.
He explained that the sector’s independence would attract local and foreign investors and create jobs.
Speaking to journalists, the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt refinery, Ahmed Dikko, said the timeline was feasible as a lot has already been done.
“You have seen it yourself the project has just started, and we are putting our energies around all the refinery, which we promised we will complete the first phase within 24-months.
“We have covered a lot of grounds to reach where we are today and make sure we meet that obligation to complete the whole refinery within 44 months, while we still working on other parts of the refinery.
“The April 2023 target of the rehabilitation of the refinery is achievable,” Dikko added.
Meanwhile, the committee charged all stakeholders to give their maximum support to ensure that the rehabilitation continues unhindered.
