THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has again failed to begin fuel production at the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.
This is despite the refinery failing to commence operations after about six postponements as of August 2024.
This newspaper observed that promises made to Nigerians by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC about the refinery have continued to hit brick walls.
After the failure of the early August promise, the Chief Financial Officer of the NNPC, Umar Ajiya, said the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operations in September 2024.
Speaking to journalists in August, Ajiya had said petroleum products would be ready for testing before being supplied to the domestic market in September.
As September ended yesterday, the NNPC did not give an update about the refinery.
Our correspondent contacted the NNPC last week for an update about the refinery, but there was no response.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the oil firm, Olufemi Soneye, did not reply to enquiries sent to him on September 22 and 30, 2024.
However, Maire Tecnimont SpA, the contractor overseeing the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, said it would provide details on the project’s completion by or before October 2.
The contractor conveyed this through a law firm, Olajide Oyewole LLP, in response to a letter from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who had inquired about the completion timeline for the refinery’s rehabilitation.
In reply to Falana’s request, the law firm stated that its client received his letters dated September 17 and 24, regarding the contract with the NNPC and is considering the inquiries.
“Our client is considering your letters and they intend to get back to you on or before 2 October 2024,” the law firm had said.
Since December 2023, NNPC, which is in charge of all the government refineries, has given Nigerians different dates, assuring them that the refinery would begin the sale of refined products soon.
In July, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, stated categorically that the refinery would come into operation in early August.
The same Kyari said in 2019 that the NNPC would deliver all the country’s four refineries before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
While appearing before the Senate in July, Kyari boasted, “I can confirm to you, Mr Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.
“Specific to NNPC refineries, we have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December, it will get to December, both Warri and Kaduna, but that of Port Harcourt will commence production early August this year.”
However, the promise was not fulfilled in August which was the sixth postponement.
Though the NNPC said it was on course, the refinery has yet to commence operations.
This newspaper recalls that the 210,000 barrels per day refinery was said to have reached what the NNPC called mechanical completion of rehabilitation work in December. It stated that the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after last year’s Christmas break.