All Refineries Will Be Fully Operational By 2022 - Kyari
By 2022, barely two years from now, Nigeria's four refineries will come back to live after years of poor performance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said, yesterday.
Though similar promises made by the corporation came to nought, the newly appointed Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari insisted that full rehabilitation of the plants would commence in January 2020.
Kyari, who disclosed this during a facilities tour of the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company (PHRC), stated that making the refineries to operate at optimal capacities was a mandate the NNPC would leave no stone unturned to actualise, saying a timely delivery of the asset was a priority.
Though some stakeholders had expressed pessimism over the claims by the new GMD, noting that the group has no strategic plan towards overhauling the asset, Kyari in statement said: “We will stick to time, we will deliver this project by 2022. We will commence actual rehabilitation work in January. We will do everything possible between October and December to close out all necessary conditions for us to deliver on that project. I believe that with the support that we have from the shareholders the government of this country, the entire staff of this company and the contractors, I believe it is doable and we will deliver the project."
He tasked the contractors on the need to consider their reputation as most critical element in business processes and engagements.
“It’s no longer about business now, but a reputational issue. For the original builders of the refinery, Tecmmont, ENI/NAOC and the NNPC, let us be conscious of the fact that our reputation is at stake as far as this project is concerned. The NNPC leadership has promised this country that our refineries will work, therefore, we must work not to disappoint over 200million Nigerian stakeholders.” In his presentation on the progress and milestones on Phase 1 of the projects, the Tecmmont Project Manager, La Mattina Carmelo, informed that the inspection aspect of the project has progressed to 91 percent, while Final Report and EPC Proposal stood at 75 per cent, adding that his company would deliver the first phase of the rehabilitation within three weeks from now.