Agip to turn around Port Harcourt refineries

The Era of incessant shutdown at Port Harcourt refineries may soon be over as Italian energy giant AGIP/ENI enters the fray. The Honorable Minister (state) for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has entered a Memorandum of understanding with ENI for the refurbishment and maintenance of the refineries on behalf of NNPC.

The Minister also enjoined other International Oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to start looking beyond the exploration and exploitation of crude oil  to supporting the goal of the Federal Government for self sustainance in the local production of petroleum products in Nigeria by building refineries in the country.

The Federal Government has consistently reiterated its desire to increase local production capacity by upgrading old refineries and encouraging greenfield deveopments as well. The overall objective is to reduce importation of petroleum products by 60 per cent in 2018, and  to become a net exporter of petroleum products and petrochemicals by 2019.