If you think cashing a $1.5 billion cheque for doing absolutely nothing sounds like a fantasy, you haven’t been introduced to Nigeria’s Port Harcourt refinery. This facility has become a notorious symbol of waste, where significant resources are funneled into “maintenance” projects that seem only to enrich its managers while the refinery itself falls further into disrepair.
Originally slated for completion in 2019, the refurbishment and upgrade of the Port Harcourt Refinery, located in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, have been delayed repeatedly, with each administration since 1999 making promises that have yet to be fulfilled. Despite a $1.5 billion contract awarded to Italian company Marie Technimont in April 2021 for the refinery’s renovation and modernization, the facility remains non-operational.
Under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the refinery has missed at least seven different start-up deadlines. As of August 20, 2024, NNPC’s Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya announced a new target date of September 1, 2024, for the refinery to begin commercial operations. According to Ajiya, petroleum products would be ready for testing before their scheduled market release in September 2024.
Similarly, Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), stated on May 29, 2024, that the Port Harcourt refinery would begin petrol production by the end of the quarter, ending in August 2023. “They (NNPC) provide me with weekly reports,” Lokpobiri said during a television appearance. “The latest report shows that hydrocarbons have been introduced, and within the next quarter, they will be refined and available to the public.”
However, this is not the first time the minister has promised Nigerians that the refinery would be up and running. The Port Harcourt refinery has been at the center of missed deadlines for years. Last August, after being sworn in, Lokpobiri pledged the refinery would be operational by December 2023. Yet, in December, despite his announcement that the refinery had “commenced operation after years of underperformance, closure, and turnaround maintenance,” no refined petroleum products were produced.
Nigerians have grown weary of the endless promises and shifting deadlines. In July 2024, Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, confidently declared that the refinery would begin operations in early August. This was after he had made a similar promise back in 2019, assuring that all four of Nigeria’s refineries would be fully functional before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Appearing before the Senate in July 2024, Kyari boldly claimed, “I can confirm to you, Mr. Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products. Specifically, regarding NNPC refineries, while the Kaduna refinery may not come online until December, both the Warri and Kaduna refineries are projected to be operational by year-end, and Port Harcourt will start production in early August this year.”
As we recall, the Port Harcourt refinery, with a capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, was said to have achieved “mechanical completion” of its rehabilitation work in December 2023. Yet, it remains inoperative, a testament to the ongoing mismanagement and inefficiency that plague Nigeria’s oil sector.
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