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PH Refinery TAM: Nigeria to spend N18b on equipment inspection

BABAJIDE OKEOWO

The Turn Around Maintenance, TAM of the Port Harcourt refinery by Italian-based Maire Tecnimont, is expected to cost Nigeria about N18 billion.

 However, the money will not be spent on giving the 150,000 barrels per day old refinery a new and improved form, rather, the money is meant for “checks and equipment inspection”. This is according to a source.

Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently commenced the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity Port Harcourt refinery when the Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru flagged off the project.

The move comes 19 years after the last Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the nation’s premier refinery.

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NNPC General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement in Abuja, said the TAM would be executed by Milan-based Maire Tecnimont S.p.A, in collaboration with its Nigerian affiliate, Tecnimont Nigeria.

The statement disclosed that Maire Tecnimont S.p.A is listed on Milan Stock Exchange with interest in international engineering and construction, technology and licensing, and energy business development, adding that the Tecnimont group had operations in 40 different countries, numbering about 50 operative companies with a workforce of about 5,500 employees.

The NNPC’s spokesman quoted the corporation’s GMD as saying that at the end of the phase 1 repair, the refinery complex should be able to reach 60 percent capacity utilization.

Ughamadu stated that NNPC was engaging ENI/NAOC as Technical Advisor to support the Rehabilitation of PHRC, saying NNPC/PHRC would leverage ENI’s extensive refinery supply chain network and warehouses to procure critical materials for the programme.

He noted that this first phase of the rehabilitation contract, which would run for six months would involve detailed integrity check and equipment inspection of the Port Harcourt Refinery complex beginning from end of March 2019.

The integrity test comes as a forerunner to the second phase of the rehabilitation project, which entails a comprehensive revamp of the complex aimed at restoring the refinery to a minimum of 90 percent capacity utilisation.

Subject to the successful completion of the integrity checks, Phase 2 of the project would be executed on an Engineering Procurement Construction basis by Tecnimont in collaboration with the original builders of the plant, JGC of Japan.

Speaking on behalf of the contractors, Antonio Vella, Chief Officer, Upstream, ENI, said all the companies involved would deploy all available modern resources to ensure effective upgrade of the plant.

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