The House of representatives Ad Hoc committee on the state of Nigerian refineries was told yesterday that a total of $1.555 billion was budgeted for the overhauling of just the Port Harcourt refinery.

The Group Managing Director, (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, (NNPC) limited, Mele Kyari made the disclosure while being grilled by the panel over the total contract sum of rehabilitating the nation's refineries.

At the resumed hearing of the committee, chaired by Hon. Abdulganiyu Johnson to determine the actual cost of monies spent so far on the rehabilitation of refineries, particularly the one in Port Harcourt, the GMD could not avail the lawmakers the relevant information sought.

During the heated investigative session which took place at the Reps wing of National Assembly with a good number of lawmakers visibly angry, Kyari reluctantly told the lawmakers that the rehabilitation work for the Port Harcourt refinery alone was put at the sum of $1.555 billion.

The GMD could not give a detail percentage of work done with the total some spent so far on the project, a development which angered the lawmakers the more, insisting to be furnished with vital documents to that effect.

But the NNPC boss insisted that work being done on the refineries is not turn around maintenance but total rehabilitation, just as he explained that the former would not solve the problem.

Kyari said since rehabilitation work commenced on the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, they have been totally shutdown because of technical issues with the processing units not operating maximally.

He also said the company did not abridge any process regarding the contract award as approved by the Federal Executive Council, (FEC). 

The NNPC boss added that the rehabilitation must be completed with pipeline replacement, explaining that operations and maintenance was part of the contract.

"On completion, the refinery will be operating at 90 percent capacity" GMD said.

As tension continued to rise following the failure of the NNPC boss to convince the committee with his explanation, the meeting went into a closed door session.

Lawmakers therefore demanded that the Group Managing Director (GMD) must  return to the committee on May 13th with relevant documents to the probe for further hearing.