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By Edward Onajomo Karoh
In the last three months, there hasn’t been any piece of information that thrills the over 200 million people in Nigeria than the successful revival of the hitherto moribund old Port Harcourt Refining Company, popularly called PHRC. Roaring back to life, literally from the grave and with visible evidence and assurance that the other three refineries of 2nd Port Harcourt Refinery, the Warri Refinery and the Kaduna refinery will all soon join the chorus of churning out refined petroleum products in the country has been nothing short of sweet music to the ears of millions of Nigerians. It can be described as the dawn of a new day for Nigeria in the energy sub-sector of the economy.
As for those saddled with the enormous duty of ensuring that there are sufficient petroleum products for domestic consumption and at reasonable prices in the country; it is simply soul lifting. To that extent, all the flowers must go to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). Speaking about the new development at the PHRC, the Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja, has this to say: “The beauty of what we have now is that everything is in sync; built to standard and working perfectly as planned”.
The effort by the NNPC in finally bringing back on-stream the PHRC now, and the remaining three refineries in the country in the nearest future, is a riveting story that speaks to a major turning point in the Nigeria energy sector. This is a story that is more than just the reviving of a hitherto moribund refinery. It is essentially the story of the determination of the NNPC to restore to full functionality all the four refineries across the country, thereby ensuring Nigeria’s energy independence and longtime sustainability.
And this achievement was made possible by extensive efforts and strategic investments in this critical sector. Built in 1965, the 60 year old Port Harcourt Refinery, which of course is Nigeria’s first refinery, which was once dormant, is now operational courtesy of the determined and focused leadership of the present NNPC.
The Group General Managing Director, (GGMD), Mele Kyari, heaped praises on the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for his unalloyed support. In his words: “His support for this project, his insistence and resilience are monumental. And we know that without his support it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve this feat. And, I would like to thank him personally and on behalf of the NNPC. We thank Mr President for the support he gave us”.
Moribund for decades, the old PHRC with a refining capacity of 65,000 bpd has stood the test of time. It suffered an untold and devastating fire outbreak in 1991 which destroyed its crude processing units and reduced it to a mere relic of its old self. Gradually, the three other refineries, which together made up the NNPC’s 445,000 bpd across the country, grind to a halt too. This development dealt a deadly blow to the nation’s capacity to refine its products and so opened a new chapter of petroleum products importation by the country.
Tayo Aderenle, Refinery Coordinator for the four NNPC refineries, has this to say: “As you know, the NNPC refineries for the past years have not been in operation. And what we have done in the past three to four years is to first and foremost bring them back to life.” And it started in 2019 when the NNPC management made a bold decision to breathe new life into the old PH refinery and reversed Nigeria’s dependency on importation of petroleum products. The restoration of the old PHRC was not merely a financial decision, it was a matter of national pride because it symbolizes economic independence and energy security.
Isiyaku Abdullahi, EVP Downstream, NNPC, put it in proper perspective thus: “The whole project was designed to ensure domestic refining capacity in the country, boost energy security in terms of demand and supply of petroleum products and to stimulate economic growth, this will reduce dependency on imported fuels and save for the country scarce foreign exchange.”
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To be sure, it was not a stroll in the park for the NNPC. Initial efforts to revive the old Port Harcourt Refinery suffered several setbacks over the years. From areas of procurement of vital spare parts, to sourcing finance for the project and so on, it was a daunting task that seemed impossible. And because of the level of dilapidation, restoring the refinery was far from a quick fix. Those in the know say that a lot of essential parts and components and supporting structures had to be replaced.
In 2020, the NNPC management changed its strategy to EPC Tendering for the PHC refineries and quick fixes for Warri and Kaduna refineries. This effectively marked the beginning of NNPC’s refineries rehabilitation programme. For the old Port Harcourt, NNPC undertook a complete revamp. Aderenle, again explains that there is a difference between a revamp and a quick fix project. He explains that for Warri and Kaduna, it is a quick fix, meaning you look at the key equipment, either static or rotating equipment and tankage and just change the ones that are functional. And that is different from revamp which is to take away everything and build it from scratch. And that has been the plan over the last three to four years. Eventually, the contract for the PHCR rehabilitation was awarded on the 6th of April, 2021.
Again, Onoja, the MD, PHCR, for the NNPC has this to say: “It has been interesting, challenging but I am really excited. It is really fulfilling that we have come this far. Basically, this rehabilitation, or to do this type of work, we started with integrity checks. And in this process of integrity checks, those things that failed, we have to ensure that they are replaced, based upon the scope of work. We had the mechanical conclusion and we started the pre-condition activities. That was quite challenging and revealing because like I told you then, we had massive replacements of a lot of the equipment within the plant. However, we also used some of the old parts that are good enough. So we had to do integration of the new and the old.”
From all indications, the refinery has undergone a complete change from the facility’s instrumentation and control units to the static and rotating equipment and pumps the refinery has undergone a complete upgrade; electrical systems which include sub-stations, transformers, switch gears, cables and panels are all brand new. Static equipment like tanks, heater columns have been refurbished. But getting the refinery started, however, required much more.
Onoja, stated that as they were commissioning units by units, a lot of things were thrown up and they had to correct them. That resulted in extensive pre-commissioning activities. Then came the crucial stage where they had to introduce hydrocarbons and the team needed permission. It was a process that took the team a while to get. This is so because they had to go and meet the regulators to come on board and grant the permission to introduce hydrocarbons. Then came the phase of stabilizing the plant and getting ‘market grade products” to come out. “It is all a very carefully calibrated process because we have to ensure the safety of the plant,” Onaja said.
Currently operating at 80 percent capacity, the old PHCR is producing straight gasoline, which is blended into PMS (Petrol), Kerosene, light and heavy oil which is blended into diesel and light gas oil used for industrial heating. While the PHCR produces petroleum products for Nigerians, for the numerous engineers working there round the clock, it is an amazing experience. As for those who had the opportunity of working there before and are retired now, seeing the PHCR roaring once more is something of joy and pride.
However, it is ridiculous that the wonderful and commendable efforts made by the NNPC have been dismissed by one Kelvin Emmanuel. Every attempt to denigrate and write off the painstaking efforts of the management and staff of the NNPC to make Nigeria self-sufficient in petroleum products can only be interpreted as satanic and anti-people. What the NNPC needs is enormous encouragement and not to be vilified. One thing, however, is sure – it is a new dawn for NNPC and Nigeria as far as crude refining is concerned and one hopes that it can only get better.
• Onajomo-Karoh, a Chemical Engineer, lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
