The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it will complete test runs at the Port Harcourt refinery this month.

Femi Soneye, NNPC’s spokesperson, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, said testing will be concluded soon.

“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” he said.

The Port Harcourt refinery, which was shut in 2019, is among the state-owned refineries that have remained moribund for years.

The federal government, in March 2021, approved the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the plant.

In December 2023, the NNPC said it completed the mechanical phase of the turnaround maintenance at the Port Harcourt refinery.

Speaking on the timeframe of operations, Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), said production would commence after phase one of the rehabilitation of the refinery is completed.

“This is just to announce to Nigerians that in fulfilment of our pledge to bring on stream phase 1 of the PH refinery by the end of 2023 and the subsequent streaming of phase 2 in 2024, we heartily announce the mechanical completion and flare up of the refinery on the 20th of December 2023,” he had said.

Lokpobiri, in August 2023, had said the Warri refinery would also come on stream by the end of the first quarter (Q1) of this year, promising that Kaduna refinery will also come on board towards the end of 2024.