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Port Harcourt Refining Company

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Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited
Company typeState-owned
IndustryOil and gas
Founded1965 (1965)
Headquarters
Port Harcourt
,
Nigeria
Area served
Nigeria
Key people
Ahmed Dikko (Managing Director),[1]

Mr. Babatunde Sofowora (Executive Director Services),

Mr.Reginald Udeh (Executive Director Finance) [2]
ProductsPetroleum and derived products
OwnerNigerian National Petroleum Corporation
Websitewww.nnpcgroup.com/nnpcbusiness/subsidiaries/phrc.aspx

The Port Harcourt Refining Company, (abbreviated PHRC), is a Nigeria-based oil and gas company primarily specializing in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products. It is headquartered in Port Harcourt metropolitan area of Rivers State, southeastern Nigeria. The company is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).[3]

Located in Alesa Eleme just to the southeast of Port Harcourt, the company operates two oil refineries, including an old plant commissioned in 1965 that can process 60,000 barrels (9,500 m3) per stream day, as well as the new plant commissioned in 1989, which has a capacity of 150,000 barrels (24,000 m3) per stream day. Both oil refineries possess a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels (33,000 m3) per stream day.

The refinery in Port Harcourt, along with other state-owned refineries in the country, has only utilised a fraction of its capacity in recent decades due to inefficient processes and a lack of maintenance. This has led to Nigeria, Africa's largest crude oil producer, becoming increasingly reliant on imports of refined petroleum products.[4]

In March 2021, the Nigerian government approved expenditure of GBP 1.08 billion (USD 1.5 billion) for the refurbishment and modernisation of the refinery complex in Port Harcourt. The main contract for the modernisation of the refinery was also awarded in the same month.[5]

The renovation project for the refinery in Port Harcourt, which will be carried out in three phases, is scheduled for completion by 2025.[4][6]

Old plant

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The old refinery comprises a crude distillation unit (CDU), a catalytic reforming unit (CRU) and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant.[7]

New plant

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The new refinery in Port Harcourt includes a crude distillation unit (CDU), a vacuum distillation unit (VDU), a naphtha hydrotreating unit (NHTU), a catalytic reforming unit (CRU), a continuous catalyst regeneration unit (CCR), a paraffin hydrotreating unit, a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit and a dimersol unit for converting propylene into a petrol blend product.[7] (You can find a comprehensive description of most of these units in the article about the Dangote refinery in Lekki here.)

There is also a butamer isomerisation plant,[8] an alkylation plant, a hydrogen purification plant, a fuel gas vaporiser and plants for treating acidic water and lye.[7]

The refinery complex

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The refinery complex has an 84 MW gas fired electric power plant,[9] and four boilers each with a steam generation capacity of 120 tonnes (t) per hour.[7]

The refinery products include petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, paraffin for aircraft and households, low-viscosity fuel oil (LPFO) and high-viscosity fuel oil (HPFO).[7]

See also

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  • Omega Butler Refinery

References

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  1. ^ "DIKKO:Bringing Port Harcourt Refinery back to life". Vanguard. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Explosion Didn't Affect Operations At Port Harcourt Refinery--Director". AllAfrica.com. AllAfrica Global Media. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Refinery". dprnigeria.com. Department of Petroleum Resources. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b Bala-Gbogbo, Elisha (25 August 2023). "Nigeria seeks to restart four state oil refineries by end 2024". Reuters. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  5. ^ Reporters, Swift (25 August 2023). "Engr. Dikko's Commitment To Port Harcourt Refinery Rehabilitation Justified". Swift Reporters. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  6. ^ PH REFINERY UPDATE DOCUMENTARY, 30 November 2023, retrieved 16 December 2023
  7. ^ a b c d e "Port Harcourt Refinery Rehabilitation and Upgrade, Nigeria". Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Refining Industry Butamer Isomerization Unit" (PDF).
  9. ^ "PORT HARCOURT REFINERY COMPLEX - an Elites project". 18 July 2022.
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