Minister of Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri has expressed his confidence that Port Harcourt Refinery will meet its new deadline after multiple delays. Despite its importance in Nigeria’s quest for Energy sovereignty and economic stability, the Port Harcourt refinery has been wracked by funding difficulties, political chess matches, and technical challenges which have delayed its rehabilitation and upgrade despite an original completion schedule of 2019.
“Great things take time” was the sentiment echoed by Lokpobiri as he explained that refineries take time to start producing final products even after mechanical works are complete. Following the flares at the refinery in December 2023. The Port Harcourt refinery is still undergoing its final rehabilitation stage. He stated.
“The Dangote refinery is a prime example that it is not as straightforward as many Nigerians believe it wants it to be, there was a considerable delay between its commissioning and the commencement of product output “ he added.
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Despite receiving regular updates from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), he has assured the public he would receive definitive updates on the timeline for the refinery’s completion. He emphasized the importance of obtaining precise information directly from the source. “I encourage you to reach out to NNPC for detailed information. They are responsible for awarding and financing the contract,” Lokpobiri advised.
“The questions you are asking me are the same ones I ask NNPC. When will we finally see this project finished? They often remind me it took the Dangote refinery a long while to begin production. It’s not as quick as we might have thought,” the minister remarked.
He pointed out that the Dangote refinery, commissioned by Buhari, took a long time to start producing petroleum products, and even now, they don’t have Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) on sale.
“It requires patience. Our role as the government is to support them in any way,” Lokpobiri added.
However, he reaffirmed that the government is making every move to ensure the refinery begins full production of refined petroleum products, which would benefit the nation’s economy.
