Port Harcourt refinery to be ready in second quarter of 2023 – says Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the Port Harcourt refinery is nearly complete and will be ready for operation in the second quarter of 2023.
The Minister said so during the Defense Correspondents Seminar in Abuja on Wednesday, March 22.
Represented by his press aide, Horatius Egua, the minister said the problems facing the oil and gas industry stem from years of neglect by previous administrations.
“The oil and gas industry is the most complex sector in this country. The more you look, the less you see. Over the past 12 months, the President’s order to end oil theft in the country is starting to show results. Before, our production fell to 900,000 barrels per day, but today it is gradually picking up and fluctuates between 1.5 and 1.6 million barrels per day.
Theft aside, previous governments didn’t invest in oil and gas infrastructure for a very long time. You notice a rupture in a pipeline; we couldn’t get what we wanted, but this administration did. Moreover, our refineries are not functioning despite the millions of naira spent on them.
The President has ordered the refineries to operate and as it is the Porth Harcourt Refinery is at 65-70%. hopefully before the end of the second quarter of the year. I believe something will come out of this refinery.”
