In a significant development for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) has delivered 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refinery, marking a crucial step towards its imminent restart after years of inactivity.

The Port Harcourt Refinery, one of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, has been plagued by years of neglect and disrepair. Its rehabilitation, which began in 2019, aimed to restore its capacity to process 210,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

A total of 475,000 barrels of oil was delivered to the Port Harcourt refinery on January 18, Shell’s Bonny oil terminal manager Osita Nnajiofor said in an emailed statement on Friday to Reuters.

The Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal (BOGT), operated by Shell, completed the delivery in January 2024.

“Future supplies from Bonny oil and gas terminal would be guided by the demand for the product,” he said.

Bamidele Odugbesan, Shell’s spokesman, told Reuters by phone that the oil deliveries to the refinery were made this week.

This move signals a potential game-changer for the Nigerian economy, aiming to boost domestic fuel production and reduce reliance on imported products.

Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC Ltd last month tendered for operators for its Port Harcourt refinery in the oil-rich Rivers state.

The NNPC at the turn of the year said it planned to complete test runs at the refinery by the end of January in a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut down.

Port Harcourt is one of four state-owned refineries that have been mothballed for years, but which the government is trying to revive to end the country’s reliance on fuel imports.