The rehabilitation and modernization of Port Harcourt refinery by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited under the guidance of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari has changed the narrative of a country where nothing works and delivered a huge political capital to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pilloried by critics of his administration at home and abroad for the rot he inherited from his predecessors.
For the feat achieved by NNPC in getting the Port Harcourt refinery working again after over two decades of inactivity, it is imperative to delve briefly into the history of the condition of the four state owned refineries before Kyari at the helm in NNPCL waved the axiomatic magic wand to turn the situation around.
Constructed back in the 60s and 80s, the 210,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt, the 125,000 barrels per day Warri, and the 110,000 barrels per day Kaduna refineries had a combined capacity of 450,000 bpd. These plants faced several technical issues, which resulted in almost zero operational refining capacity.
Against the backdrop of several failed Turn Around Maintenance after gulping billions of resources, it was understandable that Kyari was confronted by a cynical public when he pledged to rehabilitate the refineries immediately he mounted the saddle at NNPC.
The task was by no means an easy one; the delivery on his pledge with the return to operations of the Port Harcourt refinery is indeed a significant achievement by the NNPC and the Tinubu administration While this feat gives room for optimism and hope about the fate of Warri and Kaduna refineries, it also launched Nigeria on the irreversible path to energy security.
This success may seem incremental to some but if you are privileged to see the big picture through the lens of Mele Kyari, the intrepid visioner driving the reforms at NNPC, you will be confronted with a robust plan to deliver the much vaunted energy security to the country.
When he mounted the saddle at NNPC nearly five years ago, Kyari pledged the commitment of NNPC to resolve Nigeria’s energy crisis by ensuring energy security, sustainable growth, and energy affordability The gas footprint of NNPC in the past five years is an indication of the recognition of the importance of the critical role the country’s vast natural gas reserves could play in the quest to achieve energy security.
Under his guidance, NNPC continues to spearhead the drive to increase domestic gas utilization, the diversification of the energy mix, and the gradual reduction of its carbon footprint.
The focus of NNPC on the expansion of its Domestic Gas Footprints is driven by the determination to support the nation’s gas-to-power aspirations and utilize the huge gas resources to trigger the nation’s industrialization and economic development.
In order to realize this objective, NNPC invested more than $1bn from its cash flow in the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project. On completion, the 614-kilometer pipeline project will transport natural gas from Ajaokuta in Kogi state to Kaduna and Kano states.
