(Ecofin Agency) - In Nigeria, the management of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Limited has announced that following the successful conclusion of maintenance works on its crude refinement unit, the company will commence operation this week, Sun news reports.

PHRC whose columns collapsed in October this year, has not been able to refine its usual 210,000 bo/d production capacity, thereby adding to the ongoing fuel scarcity crisis throughout the country.

“Only Port Harcourt refinery produced 31,008million metric tonnes of petroleum products out of 35,648 MT (261,371.14 barrels) of crude processed at an average capac­ity utilization of 5.77 per cent”, NNPC noted in its September report adding that the poor performance was disturbing.

However, when faced with the need to resume operation due to the ongoing scarcity in the country, the management of PHRC decided to renovate the parts that were faulty themselves not waiting for help from the government. In fact, the management involved all the staff in the process and also seek for assistance from other refineries such as the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).

Moreover, in order to avoid delay due to finance, the staff including security guards and drivers were summoned for personal contributions. The total money gathered from the contribution was N5.5 million, which was used to acquire necessary materials for the renovation.