The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied claims in media reports that the newly refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has shut down.
The national oil company denied the claim in a press release issued by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.
Soneye said the claim was false and urged the media to disregard it.
He stressed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is fully operational.
The statement read, “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.
“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”
He noted that preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing, and added that claims of the shutdown are “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”
Media report of its shutdown
$1.5bn was approved in 2021 for the refurbishment of the 60,000 barrel-per-day production capacity refinery. The rehabilitation was completed and commissioned with Funfair in November 2024.
However, PUNCH reported today that the refinery had shut down, adding that it stopped distributing gasoline on December 13.
“Our correspondent, who visited the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, observed that the lifting of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) had stopped,”
“Saturday PUNCH gathered that the lifting of petrol actually stopped last Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty.
“While about 18 trucks littered the stretch of the busy road leading to the refinery itself, nine trucks were spotted inside the parking yard, while the loading bay was empty,” the Newspaper noted.
What you should know
According to NNPCL, the facility is currently running at 70% capacity, producing approximately 1.5 million liters of diesel and 2.1 million liters of Pour Fuel Oil daily.
- However, some commentators alleged that the refinery was blending “Cracked C5 petroleum resins” with Naphtha, rather than processing crude oil, to produce its products. The allegation was denied by NNPCL who argued that blending was a common and accepted practice within the petroleum industry.
- Nairametrics reported that the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), visited the refinery on December 9 and confirmed that it was operational.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) confirmed that production of petroleum oils had resumed at the refinery.