Refinery Rehab: We are optimistic, well on schedule – Dikko, MD, PHRC

By Prince Okafor

As some increasingly doubt that the ongoing rehabilitation work of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC, will yield no significant results, the company’s chief executive, Ahmed Dikko, has assured that he will deliver a fully rehabilitated refinery. and operational to Nigerians in record time.

Recall that the rehabilitation work of the PHRC began with the approval of $ 1.5 billion by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, followed by the signing of an agreement with the EPC contractors, Maire Tecnimont SpA, and the meeting launch held in Port Harcourt recently.

Dikko, in a conversation with Energy Vanguard, stressed that the rehabilitation project will be completed and delivered on schedule, starting with the Old Port Harcourt refinery. He insisted that he and his team would change the tale by delivering a working refinery.

To make sure he keeps his word, the boss of the PHRC made sure that every member of the company’s staff, whatever the department, as well as the host communities, were adequately trained as they went along. the progress of the rehabilitation works.

He said: “The engagement of the host communities is one of the key priorities for the success of this project and the management of PHRC recognizes this right from the first days of the award of this contract and has done a lot to in this regard through Public Affairs. The first is to properly disseminate information about this project, and the second is to manage the expectations of the communities.

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“The approach we use is to get communities to buy into and be part of the project. So much has been covered and I’m delighted with the way we’re doing.

“We will have the support of the communities. The entrepreneurs themselves have appointed a community representative who works closely with our public affairs team to ensure that the right information is given to communities.

Regarding the role of PHRC staff in the success of the project, Dikko continued, “Everyone is a part of the rehabilitation project, and no matter what department you are, you have to do your part to make sure we are truly successful. .

“Whether you are in the human resources, engineering or administration department; there is a role for you in the project, and I am happy that the staff have taken it on and are looking forward to the actual start of activities physically.

“We have gone even further to maintain knowledge sharing so that everyone has a clear understanding of what the project is all about, as well as the scope of the work we want to do. That way, we’ll have a role to play as we go.

Dikko also ensured that all processing plants and tanks were made oil free and parts of the factories were handed over to contractors to start work.

“All the processing plants (fuel plants 1 and 2), the power plant and utilities, as well as the jetty have been made hydrocarbon-free for the delivery of the plant. The cleaning of 10 outstanding off-site storage tanks is underway while the wastewater treatment still receives all the waste leaving the plant, ”he explained.

On what the company is doing to make sure contractors keep their promises, the managing director said, “We have provided tons of reliable information that contractors need to base their business on.

“It is no small matter to know very well that all the specifications of all the equipment and everything in it that will make the contractor successful must be given; all the documentation we have. So we did it; we handed over thousands of documents to the contractor.

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