The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has completed the construction of a 150 million litres storage facility for the Port Harcourt Refining Company, in preparation for the full operations of the plants, the company announced on Wednesday.
According to the company, the storage facility is situated in Atlas Cove, and it has also entered into Build, Operate, and Transfer agreements for the rehabilitation of pipelines and storage facilities across the country.
The Atlas Cove Jetty, a significant installation of NNPCL, serves as a hub for receiving and distributing petroleum products to the western part of Nigeria, located within the precincts of Tarkwa Bay in Lagos State.
In a documentary shared with journalists, the national oil company disclosed that its retail arm distributed approximately 14 billion litres of white products in 2023. White products include Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), and Dual Purpose Kerosene (Kerosene).
The company further revealed the establishment of an aviation arm tasked with supplying fuel to three international carriers, with plans to expand its services to more airlines in the future.
Highlighting its achievements in the downstream sector in 2023, NNPCL stated that the directorate overseeing trading, shipping, refining, and retail witnessed remarkable accomplishments. These included concluding crude oil swap arrangements and achieving the mechanical completion of the Port Harcourt refinery.
According to the company, a significant breakthrough occurred with the mechanical completion of the Port Harcourt refinery, and efforts are underway to ensure that other refineries in Kaduna and Warri follow suit as operations gradually pick up.
Key infrastructures are being established in anticipation of the full operations of the Port Harcourt refinery. A 150 million litres fully automated storage capacity at Atlas Cove has been set up, and Build, Operate, and Transfer agreements have been signed for the rehabilitation of pipelines and storage facilities nationwide.
In a statement, the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt refinery, Ibrahim Onoja, emphasized the structured rehabilitation process, stating, “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.”
The Federal Government had earlier announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company on December 21, 2023. The refinery is expected to start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after the 2023 Christmas break.
As part of the testing phase, the NNPCL commenced the supply of crude oil to the Port Harcourt refinery earlier this month. The company is also seeking partnerships with reputable operations and maintenance companies to operate and maintain the plant.
The NNPCL documentary on Wednesday highlighted the distribution achievements of its downstream retail arm, stating that over 14 billion litres of white products were distributed in 2023. Additionally, the company is making strides in the supply of aviation fuel, rebranding its aviation services to expand operations.
As the sole importer of refined petroleum products into Nigeria, the NNPCL’s efforts align with the nation’s goal to boost local refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported fuel. The imminent operations of refineries such as the Port Harcourt refinery and the Dangote refinery are expected to contribute to meeting domestic fuel demand.
