The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd has revealed that test-run at the Port Harcourt refinery will be completed before the end of January, in a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut.
“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” NNPC spokesperson Femi Soneye told Reuters on Thursday.
Soneye added that the test run was a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut.
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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.
The state-owned oil company announced in December the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area-5 Plant of the facility.
Port Harcourt is among Nigerian 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 product.
