The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, on Wednesday, said the country’s biggest refinery will become functional by December.
Recall that in 2021, the Federal Executive Council had approved $1.5 billion for resuscitating the 60,000 barrels per day refinery which was shut in March 2019.
Briefing newsmen shortly after this week’s FEC meeting in Abuja, the minister said the rehabilitation of the refineries is ongoing.
“As we said earlier, the old refinery in Port Harcourt, which is about 60,000 barrels per day capacity, will be functional by December and, of course, we still have some time in the contracting time to conclude the rest of the Port Harcourt refineries,” Mr Sylva said.
According to him, works in the Kaduna and Warri refineries are also progressing well.
“We will soon be embarking on an inspection visit and some of you journalists will be able to go with us to ascertain for yourselves what the extent of work is,” he said.
Mr Sylva also told the correspondents that the council approved N2.044 billion for the provision of internal roads and drainages at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s Gas hub in Bayelsa.
According to Mr Sylva, the gas hub was meant to encourage the development of countries that will process the Nigerian gas for export as well as promote the use of gas internally.
“Council today approved the contract to construct internal roads and bridges in the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s Gas hub located at Polaku in Bayelsa.
”The contract sum is N2.044 billion.
“The gas hub is to encourage the development of companies that will process and develop our gas for export and to try to deepen the use of gas internally as well as construct gas cylinders.
“Already there are companies that are in the gas hub. So, these drainages and roads.
”The entire development of that area is to encourage more companies to come into the area in furtherance of our commitment to the decade of gas from 2021 to 2030 as declared by the president,” he said.
