The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said that by the first quarter of 2024 the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery would be partially completed, while the Dangote Refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day would also be operational.
This was stated by Sylva in the resumption of the “PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)” organized by the Ministry of Information and Culture.
Introducing his ministry’s scorecard, Sylva specifically said the 60,000 bpd capacity refinery within the Port Harcourt refinery complex would be ready for production in the first quarter of 2024.
The Minister added that the Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery with an investment of more than US$25 billion, would also be operational before the end of 2023, in addition to various modular refinery projects in the country. .
Thus, he assured Nigerians that with the combined output of the Port Harcourt refinery, the Dangote refinery, and the modular refineries, Nigeria would end the importation of petroleum products into the country.
The minister revealed that in order to ensure local supply of production from private refineries, the Federal Government deliberately took 20 percent of the capital stock of the Dangote Refinery.
Similarly, the minister said the FG acquired a 30 percent equity stake in each of the 5,000 bpd Walter Smith modular refinery in Ibigwe, Imo state and the 10,000 bpd Duport modular refinery in Edo state, among other.
He said the government was currently tackling the crude oil access challenge faced by modular refineries.
The minister also said that the huge fund being spent on grants could be used for other development projects that would have a positive impact on many Nigerians.
He added that the elimination of subsidies would attract more investment to the oil sector since many private individuals would be willing to invest in the construction of refineries.
