NNPCL Handover pipelines rehabilitation to private firm, builds storage facility at PHC refinery
NIGERIA, Jan. 25 – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stated on Wednesday that it has constructed a 150 million litres storage facility for the Port Harcourt Refining Company in the lead of full operations of the plants.
The country’s top oil company said the storage facility was constructed in Atlas Cove, noting that the company had signed Build, Operate and Transfer agreements for the rehabilitation of pipelines and storage facilities nationwide.
According The PUNCH, the Atlas Cove Jetty is a major installation of NNPCL for receipt and distribution of petroleum products to the western part of Nigeria and is located within the precincts of Tarkwa Bay in Lagos State.
NNPCL further revealed in a documentary made available to the media that its retail arm distributed about 14 billion litres of white products in 2023.
White products include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly called petrol; Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) also known as diesel; and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), commonly referred to as Kerosene.
The company further stated that an aviation arm had been created that would supply fuel to three international carriers, adding that more airlines would be served in due course.
Outlining its strides in the downstream sector in 2023, the company stated that “the directorate overseeing trading, shipping, refining and retail witnessed extraordinary achievements.”
It added that from concluding crude oil swap arrangements to achieving mechanical completion of the Port Harcourt refinery, NNPC Ltd’s downstream sector marked 2023 with triumphs.
The firm said, “A major breakthrough unfolded with the mechanical completion of the Port Harcourt refinery. As operations gradually pick up, efforts are on the way to ensure that the new Port Port Harcourt refinery, Kaduna and Warri refineries follow suit.”
It stated that key infrastructures were being put in place ahead of full operations of the Port Harcourt refinery.
“Ahead of full operations, NNPC Ltd has put in place 150 million litres fully automated storage capacity at Atlas Cove. NNPC Ltd also inked Build, Operate and Transfer agreements for the rehabilitation of pipelines and storage facilities across Nigeria,” the company stated.
In the documentary, the Managing Director, Port Harcourt refinery, Ibrahim Onoja, said, “The rehabilitation is so structured. It is based on a very firm foundation that we knew from the beginning that it will deliver. We started this process by setting up a governance process to ensure that the rehabilitation is a success.”
On December 21, 2023, the Federal Government announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State.
It stated at the time that the first phase of the plant had been completed, as the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after the 2023 Christmas break.
