The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has said that “substation 1” of its Port Harcourt refinery has now been activated, explaining that this will help energise 14 others.

In a second video update on the level of progress made in the refinery’s rehabilitation project, the NNPC insisted that the Port Harcourt refinery was gearing up for commencement of operations.

To do this, it noted that 15 substations will be needed to power its operations, explaining that till date, its team has laid 64 kilometres of electrical cables to facilitate the task, with 65 per cent of the cables sourced locally.

However, a former Executive Director of the NNPC and ex-Managing Director of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries, Alex Ogedengbe, recently said that it will take about three months for the refinery to start refining activities, even if it is completed today.

He stated that this period will be used to test-run the project.

He also doubted that the refinery will come on stream this month, given that the first update last week indicated that it was 75 per cent completed, explaining that even if it happens, just about 25 per cent petrol throughput will be achieved.

But according to the NNPC report, substation 1 which has now been energised will power all other 14 substations, with substation 1 serving as the primary power hub for both the old and new refineries.

The update also indicated that the refinery is set to receive electricity from gas turbine generators by mid-December 2023, supplying power to various areas within the refinery complex.

The Lead Electrical Engineer at the refinery rehabilitation site, Chukwudi Iweha, explained that activating the substation was a critical step in powering the other ones.

According to the NNPC, over 100 staff members worked on installing the switchgear panels, comprising high and low-voltage panels and motor control centre panels, capable of handling 11,000 volts of electricity.

It stated that all the old equipment at substation 1 were replaced with the latest technology to ensure maximum efficiency and safety, while several modifications were made to maintain an uninterrupted power supply at the substation.

Also, the Lead Instrumentation and Automation Engineer for the project, Taiwo Igbosanu, highlighted the key components as the engineering workstation manned by four engineers and the operations workstation. (ThisDay)

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