The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), on Wednesday, commenced operations, signalling the end of an era of heavy reliance on imported fuel.

The refinery, which boasts of a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, resumed operations after months of intensive rehabilitation spearheaded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

With this development, stakeholders in the downstream sector say the price of fuel, which is over N617/litre, may come down.

Recall that in August, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, assured Nigerians that the refinery would be operational by December.

According to the Minister, the objective is to ensure the country stops importing fuel.

Corroborating Lokpobiri’s stance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, said importing petroleum products into the country will cease by December 2024.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said, “I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery, and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation.

The Federal Executive Council had, in March 2021, approved $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery. N11.35 trillion ($25 billion) has reportedly been spent in the past ten years on fixing the country’s three refineries.