Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Port Harcourt Refinery, in Rivers State, is scheduled to begin a partial refining activities soon as it received a total of one million barrels of crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL).
The giant refinery has also obtained necessary refining license from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority for the commencement of the business.
This is coming on the heels of the mechanical completion of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery in December last year.
Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper said that the NNPCL is pushing for a phased commencement of refining activities, with August being considered as a possible date for the partial start of the refining operations.
It was learnt that the one million barrels of crude oil were supplied to the refinery in two tranches, with the latest delivery made on July 10.
Industry experts estimate that about 170 litres of refined petroleum products can be obtained from a barrel of crude oil, meaning that the one million barrels supplied by the NNPCL can provide an estimated 170 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and other refined products.
The Port Harcourt Refinery Rehabilitation Project, worth approximately $1.5 billion, covers the entire scope of Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and commissioning phases.
