Wedoany.com Report-May 31, Nigeria National Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPC) has temporarily halted operations at the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State for planned maintenance and a sustainability assessment, following its restart a year ago after an extended hiatus. The duration of the shutdown was not disclosed, but NNPC emphasized collaboration with stakeholders to ensure efficiency.

National oil and gas company NNPC did not say how long the shutdown, which includes a 'sustainability assessment', would last.

NNPC stated in an online announcement: “We are working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to ensure the maintenance and assessment activities are carried out efficiently and transparently.” The company reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable energy security for Nigeria.

On March 19, 2025, NNPC reported a minor incident at the refinery but confirmed continued production of high-quality refined petroleum products. The refinery, comprising two plants with a combined crude distillation capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, includes an older facility built in 1965 and a newer one from 1989. In 2019, NNPC initiated a $1.5 billion, two-phase rehabilitation project to boost the refinery’s utilization rate, targeting 60% in phase one and 90% in phase two. By November 26, 2024, the refinery was operating at 70% capacity, with plans to reach 90%.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. (SPDC), now part of Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, resumed crude oil supply to the refinery early in 2024 after a five-year outage. SPDC noted: “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.”

Additionally, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) recently acquired a 20% stake in a new 100,000-barrels-per-day refinery project within the Port Harcourt refinery complex, where NNPC holds a 15% share. The African Refinery Group, which won a bid in 2016 to develop this refinery on 45 hectares of the complex, signed a sub-lease agreement with NNPC in 2019 for 64 years. NCDMB announced on March 9, 2025: “The promoters of the project had in 2016 won a competitive bid to co-locate a crude oil refinery within the site of the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex.” NCDMB plans to divest its stake seven years after commercial operations begin.

The Port Harcourt refinery’s maintenance and the new refinery project underscore Nigeria’s efforts to enhance energy production and sustainability, supporting economic growth and energy reliability in the region.