The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has supplied over 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC).
The crude supply which resumed earlier this year, was from the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal, a joint venture asset operated by SPDC.
Checks revealed that the resumption came after a prolonged outage of over five years, during which the refinery underwent rehabilitation and integrity activities on its supply pipeline from the terminal.
Dr Osagie Okunbor, the Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of SPDC, announced the recent resumption.
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Okunbor also mentioned that future supplies from the terminal will be made based on the demand.
He 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.”
Regarding the resumed crude supply, Odita Nnajiofor, the Installation Manager at the terminal, attributed the success of the crude supply restart to the collaboration between his team and that of the refinery.
Nnajiofor said:
“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.
“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.
“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.”