A new report revealed that contrary to the news that the Port Harcourt refinery had halted operations, the facility had instead, scaled down operations to make the necessary improvements.
The Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja, and the Executive Director of Operations, Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company Limited, Moyi Maidunama, claimed, during a guided tour of the Port Harcourt refinery, that the facility has been operational.
“So, the operations were not halted. It was obviously reduced due to some improvements that we needed to make. We are managing the process with the number of trucks available today, using a few loading arms for evacuation. This should be resolved soon,” he stated.
He assured that product distribution was still going on, adding that the process would go on unhindered and that many trucks were already loading refined products.
However, that is hardly the only reason why the newly refurbished refinery has seen little activity.
Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have noted that pricing, much like it did with the Dangote refinery, has become a subject of contention.
As reported by the Punch newspaper, IPMAN revealed that if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited sold PMS from the Port Harcourt refinery at a high price, it would not purchase from the facility.
According to said marketers, NNPCL was looking to sell gasoline for N1,030 per liter from the facility. This is almost N60 more expensive than the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s gasoline.
The spokesperson of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, while speaking in an interview with the Punch, noted that IPMAN does not expect the government facility to sell petrol at the same price as the privately owned Dangote refinery, let alone more expensive.
“If the Port Harcourt refinery’s PMs price is truly N1,030, it is unacceptable to us independent marketers. We will not buy from them. We will buy where it is cheap,” he said.
The NNPCL denied the expensive price, opting to withhold information on how much it intends to sell petrol to marketers at this current time.
Chinedu Ukadike reiterated this point, as he expressed optimism that the NNPCL would review the price.
“They promised to review the price. We will wait till then, but now we will buy from where it is cheaper,” he stated.
A few days ago, the NNPC relayed that it is yet to start distributing PMS from the Port Harcourt refinery to outsiders the products are currently only available through its retail outlets.
The Port Harcourt refinery resurgence
On the 26th of November, it was announced that the Port Harcourt refinery had finally commenced fuel production.
“NNPC Ltd Delivers Port Harcourt Refinery as plant begins truckout of products today, Tuesday 26th November 2024 at 1.45 pm. Watch the commissioning and trucking out event LIVE,” the NNPC had stated via X.
The refinery is one of the three refineries owned by the Nigerian federal government, and currently the only functional one in the country alongside the Dangote refinery.
The refinery, which has been in operation since 1965 and is located in the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria, has been dormant for over a decade now.
However, the Nigerian government obtained a $1.5 billion loan in March 2021 to upgrade and modernize the refinery.
The rehabilitation of this refinery has sparked conversations over how competition between functioning refineries might ensure that gasoline costs in Nigeria are reduced, which has been largely responsible for inflating the high cost of living in the country.
