The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has completed the supply of over 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC) from the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal, a joint venture asset operated by SPDC.
The crude supply resumed early in the year after a prolonged outage of over five years, during which time the refinery underwent rehabilitation and integrity activities on its supply pipeline from the terminal.
Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director, SPDC Dr. Osagie Okunbor, said, “With this supply restart, the refining capacity of in-country is expected to come back to life and make petroleum products readily available while reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined products.” He added that future supplies from the terminal would be guided by the demand.
Speaking on the resumed crude supply, the terminal’s Installation Manager, Odita Nnajiofor, said the success of the crude supply restart was a result of the collaboration between his team and that of the refinery. “This is indeed a significant step in the nation’s renewed efforts to utilise key infrastructure to assure the steady supply of products from the refining company to the Nigerian market,” he said.
According Nnajiofor, “Before implementing the supplies of the product to the refining company, the project teams first assured the integrity of the supply pipelines and the terminal’s export pumps which had been shut down for an extended period.” These actions, he explained, resulted in the successful and safe completion of the refinery supply with no harm to people and environment.
“The recommencement of crude oil supply from the terminal to the refinery is a significant achievement and a game-changer for the industry and the country. It will support federal government’s aspiration of steady supply of petroleum products to the downstream market with attendant economic benefits to the nation and the people,” Nnajiofor said.
