The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) says the test runs at the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State will be completed this month, January 2024.

The test run was a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut, the company said on Thursday, January 4.

“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” the NNPC spokesperson Femi Soneye, told Reuters.

The refinery, which is undergoing an upgrade, will begin by processing 60,000 barrels per day, and NNPC expects to operate at the full capacity of 210,000 barrels per day later this year.

READ ALSO: NNPCL completes mechanical rehabilitation of P’Harcourt Refinery

The Port Harcourt refinery is among state-owned refineries that have been mothballed for years, but which the government is trying to revive to end the country’s reliance on imported refined products.

The Star had reported that the NNPCL, in December 2023, completed the mechanical rehabilitation work on Area 5 Plant of the Port Harcourt refinery.

Rehabilitation work has been ongoing at the Refinery for over two years and the NNPCL pledged to complete Phase One of the project (mechanical completion and flare start-up) of Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5) by December 31, 2023.

The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, said as of December 15, 2023, 84.4 per cent of Area 5 Plant, a key component of the refinery, and 77.4 per cent of the entire rehabilitation project have been completed.

“In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of phase one of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and get the other plants running in 2024,” Kyari had said.

The Star