GENERAL OVERVIEW OF EPC WORKS FOR JETTY REHABILITATION

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) is an oil and gas company based in Nigeria, which operates two refineries in Alesa Eleme, southeast of Port Harcourt. The old refinery was commissioned in 1965 having a capacity of 60,000 bpd and the new refinery was commissioned in 1989 having a processing capacity of 150,000 bpd of Bonny Light Oil. The plant utilises Bonny light crude oil to produce various petroleum Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) (domestic and aviation), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) (diesel), Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO). Produced gasoline meets international standards.

In recent times, the refineries have not been in operation hence Nigerian petroleum products demand has been met by importing products into the country. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) intend for the refineries to undergo a ‘rehabilitation’ process whereby both refineries are refurbished to achieve a minimum capacity of 90% of the original design by 2022.

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Jetty is the interface between the land mode of transportation and waterways. The structural deterioration of  the jetty structure depends upon various parameters such as their exposure conditions, oceanographic conditions, salinity, ballast water contamination, wind velocity and its direction. Jetty structures are subjected to dead load, live load, earthquake load and additional marine loads like current load, wave load etc.

The various degrees of deterioration and the deterioration patterns also change within the same structure. This happens because various parts of the structure have different exposure conditions. This can lead to insufficient longitudinal or transverse bearing capacity of the jetty which leads to cracks. In such scenarios appropriate retrofitting method and material is a prerequisite to regaining its structural strength.

One such method is the reinforcement by Fiber Reinforced Polymers in the form of thin laminates or fabrics. It uses carbon fiber fabrics/ laminates on the surface of the concrete to form a composite that works in coordination with concrete to strengthen the component structure and improve its mechanical performance.