Nigeria: Press focuses on 60,000 barrels of products to be processed by Port Harcourt refinery, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The announcement of the mechanical completion of the rehabilitation work on Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government, on Thursday, announced the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on Area-5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State.
It said the first phase of the plant had been completed, as the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil after the Christmas break.
About 170 litres of refined petroleum products can be obtained from a barrel of crude oil. This implies that the 60,000bpd production from the Port Harcourt refinery can provide an estimated 10.2 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol and other refined products.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which is the manager of the refinery, revealed that the second phase of the facility would be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024 and would lead to the refining of 150,000bpd crude by the facility.
This came as the government also stated that the importation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, would reduce after the Christmas break, as the refinery starts pumping out refined products.
The newspaper says that the federal government, yesterday, sought more investment to unlock the country’s over 219 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas as the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) awarded a domestic gas aggregation licence.
State Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said there was a need for collaborative efforts in raising necessary required funding for gas development.
Ekpo, while speaking at the unveiling of the new identity of Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN), said the sector needs to tackle inherent challenges head-on.
“As we move forward, it is essential to acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead. The global shift towards cleaner energy sources and the need for sustainable development demands innovative strategies and collaborative efforts. I believe that this newly expanded mandate of GACN aligns perfectly with these imperatives offering new opportunities for growth and development,” he said.
The minister said the federal government was committed to realising the vast potential of Nigeria’s gas reserves, adding that the government would support initiatives that align with the expansion of gas production.
Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, said the licence would stimulate vibrancy and efficiency and spur additional investments in the natural gas value chain in the country through support for the implementation of domestic gas delivery obligation.
The license, according to him, would enable GACN to carry out its functions according to the conditions prescribed in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as well as the regulations and terms contained.
Ahmed said the NMDPRA believed that the move would reinforce the commitment and the renewed hope efforts of the current administration towards the development of gas resources for economic development.
The rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt refinery has been ongoing for over two years and the NNPCL had pledged to complete phase one of the project (mechanical completion and flare start-up) of Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area-5) by December 31, 2023.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Competition and Protection Commission (FCCPC) said that despite zero budgetary allocation, it has generated a total of N56 billion this year.
Out of the sum, the agency remitted about N22.4 billion to the federal government, saying the value demonstrated the possibility of accountability and transparency in government business.
It said about 90 per cent of the sum came from sanctions and penalties against companies and organisations that flout its Act.
Recall that the objectives of the Act are to promote and maintain competitive markets, protect and promote the interest and welfare of consumers and prohibit restrictive or unfair business practices that prevent, restrict or distort competition among others.
The FCCPC Executive Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, gave the details, yesterday, at a strategic media engagement held in Abuja.
“I am glad that there are no cases in court today proving that FCCPC is oppressive… We are also proud to say that in 2021, N1.8 billion was budgeted for the agency but the government only released N1.2 billion while we recorded a N4 billion in internally generated revenues (IGR). In 2022, we were given a budget of N1.3 billion while N633 million went into salaries and overheads,” he said.
The newspaper says that the federal government has restated its commitment to quick completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company to pave the way for local manufacturing of cars and spare parts for local consumption, the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, has said.
Speaking, Osanipin noted: “Government cannot continue to allow importation of over 400,000 used cars yearly into the country. We are tired of being used as a dumping ground, we are already working with stakeholders to ensure all used vehicles above twenty years of manufacture are banned from importation,” he said.
He disclosed this in an address at a public sector engagement on the Implementation of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP 2023- 2033) held in Abuja.
He assured that the completion of the plant would not only save the nation’s scarce foreign exchange but would allow for local manufacturing of spare parts for auto industries and create massive employment for the people. “We need to talk to our colleagues in customs to start putting age limits on used cars. We cannot allow Nigeria to be a dumping ground for used vehicles.
A situation where 2005 or 2007 used vehicles are brought into the country is unacceptable and we’ll collaborate with relevant authorities to this effect. We will have to specify the minimum standard for vehicles to come into Nigeria,” he said. He added that they have seen vehicles imported into Nigeria without airbags, adding that it is unacceptable.
Underscoring the significance of the stakeholder’s engagement in developing and implementing the Federal Government’s Automotive policy, he said the NAIDP was designed to address key sector challenges such as low production levels, insufficient local content and limited finance among others.
“We are going to start what we call deletion policy which is contained in the NAIDP being reviewed because that is the only way we can grow our local content and develop our parts. We are working to identify the components part we can produce in Nigeria. We are looking at the production of tyres, plastics, batteries and other things. By the time we identify these and identify component manufacturers that can do this according to our standards, the better for us,” he said.
GIK/APA