The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, has assured Nigerians that the rehabilitated Port Harcourt Oil Refinery would commence operations in two weeks.
Kyari stated this on Thursday at an interactive session with the Senate.
He assured Nigerians that the delivery date of the Port Harcourt and other refineries remains sacrosanct.
A statement by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, quoted Kyari as saying: “We will make sure that promises that we made about the rehabilitation of these refineries are kept. We completed the mechanical completion of PHRC in December.
Now, we have crude oil already stocked in it. It is currently undergoing regulatory compliance test before we restream it. I assure you that this refinery will start in next two weeks”.
He spoke further, “For Warri, we have also done mechanical work on it. It is undergoing regulatory compliance processes that we are doing with our regulators.
“Kaduna will be ready by December this year, but we have not reached that stage. We believe that it will also be ready on schedule.”
Kyari explained that the Port Harcourt refinery has received 450,000 barrels of crude for processing since the mechanical completion of the plant in December last year.
He called for the cooperation of all stakeholders in the rehabilitation process, stressing that “we are all serving this country dutifully and loyally. Nigerians must understand that gradually, we shall get this task done.”
The statement added that the Senate Ad-hoc Committee is expected to visit the three refineries in Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt soon for an on-the-spot assessment of work progress.
(Punch)