By Dickson Pat
Revival of the Port Harcourt Refining Company ,PHRC, has continued to generate reactions with the Executive Chairman of African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building ,ACSDCB, Professor Olu Ajakaye saying the refinery will boost GDP and revive petrochemical industries.
The expert further explained that the refinery will further boost the supply of petroleum products.
The reaction comes as the NNPCL restored the PH Refinery with the daily production of 1.4 million liters of PMS, 900,000 litres of kerosene, 2.1 million litres of Low Pour Fuel Oil ,LPFO, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas ,LPG.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL Mele Kyari disclosed on Monday when labour leaders from the Nigeria Labour Congress ,NLC, and the Trade Union Congress ,TUC, visited the facility in Rivers State that the refinery has reached 90 per cent capacity.
The development expert said the PH Refinery will make the supply of Automotive Gas Oil ,AGO, or diesel and Premium Motor Spirit and other petroleum products more robust.
Ajakaye said, “It is good news that one of our refineries which we have been spending money on turnaround maintenance is back on stream and starting to produce value which is highly beneficial to the Nigerian economy.
“We expect it to have a positive effect on the economy in terms of growth in the contribution of the refinery sector to GDP. The main issue now is that with the Port Harcourt Refinery now on track, it will supplement the Dangote Refinery.
“So, the total volume of PMS available in the country certainly has increased. If it will reflect in the prices is a key focus. In the long-run, when the prices go down, it will have a multiplier effect on the economy.
“NNPC must not copy the N20 or N50 reduction that Dangote has been making noise about”.
The development expert said the addition of a 210,000 barrels per day refinery to the existing refineries will boost the country’s push for energy sufficiency.
According to him, factories rely on the supply of Automotive Gas Oil and PMS are vital to the transportation industry and running of generators by the service industry and factories.
He added, “It will also make the economy more attractive to investors because when they do project evaluation and once the cost of production is lower, then the profit margin will be higher.
“When the refinery was started in the 1980s, it was meant to bridge the supply gap. What we need to do is to ensure that we use our crude oil as a platform for development.
“The refinery will also be processing what we have been throwing away. The companies that need petrochemicals for fertilizers and other petrochemical industries will be revived with the refinery.
“Now that the refinery is coming up, hopefully, it will encourage petrochemical businesses to reopen. It will have another multiplier effect on the economy”.
