NNPCL to hand over Port Harcourt refinery to private entities

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has unveiled plans to transfer the operations of the Port Harcourt refinery to private entities to boost its efficiency and productivity.

The company disclosed this in an expression of interest notice posted on its website on Monday.

The notice was also shared on its X (formerly Twitter) page.

The Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State is one of the four state-owned refineries.

The other three refineries are located in Port Harcourt, Warri in Delta, and Kaduna States.

The refinery has a refining capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) but has been bedeviled by years of neglect and operational challenges.

The NNPCL said on December 15 last year that 77.4 percent of the entire rehabilitation works on the refinery had been completed.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in March 2021 approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation works on the facility.

READ ALSO: Afenifere reminds Nigerian govt of Dec deadline for Port Harcourt refinery repairs

The notice read: “NNPC Limited is looking for reputable and credible Operations & Maintenance (O&M) companies to operate and maintain one of its refineries, Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), to ensure reliability and sustainability towards meeting the nation’s fuel supply and energy security obligations.

“The contract for the operation of the refinery will cover a wide range of refinery business processes, including crude oil receipt and storage, refining, product storage and distribution, and maintenance.

“Interested companies must have a minimum average annual turnover of at least $2 billion for the fiscal years ending in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. They must also have a proven track record of operating and maintaining refineries of similar size and complexity”.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, had also revealed that the second phase of repair works on the refinery would be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.  

The NNPCL’s decision to hand over the operation of the Port Harcourt refinery to private entities is a significant step in the ongoing reform of the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

The move is expected to attract much-needed investment into the refinery and improve its operational efficiency.

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