By Stella Odueme
The Federal Government may have decided that private operators are to take over the running of the Port Harcourt Refinery from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd.
It was gathered that the move was intended to increase the refinery’s dependability, while boosting Nigeria’s fuel supply and energy security.
The NNPCL, in a statement published on its website, described its hunt for renowned and competent operators to take over the refinery’s operations.
According to the statement, various facets of refinery business activities, including production, operations, planning and execution, environmental management, health and safety management, and small project supervision, would fall within the purview of the chosen firm.
In order to be considered for this opportunity,
“prospective organisations must exhibit high level financial competence and have average annual turnover of at least $2 billion USD for the fiscal years ending in 2020, 2021, 2022, and so on.
“This criterion is in place to guarantee that the selected operator has the resources and financial stability needed to operate the refinery efficiently,” according to the statement.
As part of a test run, the NNPCL has started supplying crude oil to the Port Harcourt refinery, indicating a resurgence of the facility’s activities.
The refinery’s Area-5 Plant, situated in the Niger Delta, underwent mechanical completion of restoration work, as reported by the Federal Government on December 21, 2023.
“After the Christmas break, the facility will be able to process 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
