Nigerian Senate Investigates $1.5bn Spent on Rehabilitating Port Harcourt Refinery

The Nigerian Senate has raised major concerns over the $1.5 billion allocated in 2021 for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, citing minimal to no results from the investment.

This issue was brought to light by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, during an interactive session with stakeholders on August 7th, 2024, in Abuja.

Bamidele emphasized the unfairness and impropriety of neglecting public companies while private businesses continue to thrive.

The Federal Executive Council had approved the $1.5 billion plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2021 to revamp the Port Harcourt Refinery. Despite this substantial investment, the refinery has not shown important improvement.

The Senate's investigation is part of a broader effort to address the dysfunctionality of government-owned refineries, including those in Kaduna and Warri, which have also seen billions spent on maintenance without yielding functional results.

Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), refuted claims of sabotaging domestic refinery efforts, asserting that the company has made considerable progress.

However, skepticism remains due to previous unmet deadlines for the resumption of refinery operations. Kyari assured that the Port Harcourt a would commence operations by December 2023, with the other refineries expected to start in the second half of 2025.

The Senate's probe into the Port Harcourt Refinery's rehabilitation costs is part of a larger scrutiny of Nigeria's petroleum industry, which includes investigating the N30 trillion Ways and Means spent by former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration between 2015 and 2023.

The Senate has also constituted a 15-member Adhoc Committee to investigate the continuous importation of hazardous petroleum products.