Port Harcourt refinery don begin operations again but price of fuel go come down?

Di Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) say di Port Harcourt refinery for Rivers state, south south Nigeria don begin crude oil processing.

NNPC say di refinery go operate at 60% capacity, processing 600,000 barrels of crude per day.

Dis dey come afta many years of promise wit different administrations wey bin plan to repair am but no success.

Di four state-owned refineries for Nigeria wey dey Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri stop operations since 2019, wey force di Federal Goment into foreign refining of dia crude oil. Dis really affect fuel supply and economic stability for di country.

Federal Goment bin say di refinery plant go start operations in December 2022. Later, e shift di start date to di end of di first quarter of 2023, but noting come out of am until now.

Nigeria na one of Africa biggest producer of crude oil but di kontri dey struggle for many years to maintain di four refineries wey dey located for Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri.

For different administration, plans to repair and make di refinery work dey part of dia promises but Nigerians neva see any form of success.

However, for Tuesday 26 November, 2024, NNPC announce say di port Harcourt refinery go begin truck out products.

Di Port Harcourt refinery na di biggest refinery for di kontri as di company get two refineries dia.

Na 1965 dem commission di first refinery while dem commission di second one for 1989.

Di refinery like all di oda refineries for di kontri don dey out of service and e neva make any moni for so many years now.

For 2019, report say di refinery lost 167 billion naira.

Meanwhile, di Nigeria Federal Executive Council on Wednesday 17 March, 2021 bin approve $1.5 billion to begin repairs for di refinery.

Dat time, pipo bin dey against di repair of di refinery sake of say dem believe say di refinery no dey function.

According to di den Nigeria Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Slyva, di refinery repair go happun for three phases; di first go end in 28 months, di second in 24 months and di third phase go finish after 44 months, di former minister tok.

‘Di price of fuel no go come down’

Experts believe say fuel price go still dey high even as Port Harcourt refinery don start to work.

Gbolahan Olojede tell BBC Pidgin say kontri pipo no go see any significant effect on di price unless goment choose to subsidise am.

‘’To subsidise fuel actually dey illegal under di Petroleum Industry Act. Without subsidy, di price no come down.

Olajede praise goment for dia efforts to fix di refinery afta several failed attempts. But torchlight three key issues on di mata.

Di total capacity for PH refineries na about 210,000bpd.

Wetin go dey truly impactful na make both di 60,000 and di 150,000 PH refineries go commercial.

E say "dem go contribute reasonable volume to di total domestic production. Di 210,000bpd go present an element of competition against wetin dey close to di domestic monopoly wey we get for Dangote refinery, pass dis 60,000bpd capacity.

"Goment don show ova and ova again say dem no fit run businesses. If di operations of dis refinery remain wit goment, just know say e go soon die again.

Di expectations of many kontri pipo na say once goment refineries start to work, PMS pump price go drop well-well.

Gbolahan Olojede say dis dey most unlikely to happun, and goment fit need to proactively manage dis expectation, and push more wit determination of di CNG alternative.

Fotos from di Port Harcourt refinery