The Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC is experiencing sabotage and acts of vandalism, hampering efforts to commence production, according to a report by TheCable.
Sources in the know told the news outlet Wednesday that there have been organised acts of vandalism at the plant.
Vandals were said to have been caught cutting cables and stealing equipment from the refinery.
The sources also said there is an ongoing blockade at the entrance of the refinery preventing work from commencing.
“Hundreds of people are currently gathered at the PHRC entrance, preventing workers from doing their jobs and vowing that the refinery restart will not proceed,” a source told TheCable.
On December 21, 2023, NNPC Limited announced the completion of the mechanical rehabilitation on a section of the refinery.
Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari had said the refinery would begin production by the end of March, but the facility is yet to start production.
It was reported on July 9 that the presidency expressed concerns over the NNPC’s failure to deliver critical projects including the Port Harcourt Refinery.
But Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), said such projects often take time, adding that the refinery is at its final rehabilitation stage.
On July 15, the national oil company said the refinery will begin operation in early August.
This and others are the more reasons why the refineries should be privatize.
Anything run by government in this present Nigeria will not work.