NNPCL Debunks Shutdown Rumors of PH Refinery
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has dismissed media reports suggesting that the recently refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has ceased operations. The national oil company described the claims as baseless, urging Nigerians to disregard the misinformation.
In a statement released on Saturday, Olufemi Soneye, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, emphasized that the refinery remains fully operational.
“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,” the statement read. “We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false. The refinery is fully operational, as verified recently by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”
Soneye further noted that preparations for the day’s loading operations were underway at the facility. He dismissed claims of a shutdown as “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip off Nigerians.”
The refinery, boasting a 60,000-barrel-per-day capacity, was refurbished and officially commissioned with much fanfare in November 2024.
Contradicting the NNPCL’s assertion, PUNCH reported on Saturday that gasoline distribution at the refinery had been halted as of December 13, 2024. The newspaper claimed that its correspondent observed an empty 18-arm loading bay during a visit to the refinery on December 19, with idle trucks stationed along the access road and parking yard.
Also Read; Why We Cut Operations – PH Refinery
NNPCL maintained that the refinery is currently operating at 70% capacity, producing 1.5 million liters of diesel and 2.1 million liters of pour fuel oil daily. Addressing allegations that the refinery was blending “Cracked C5 petroleum resins” with naphtha instead of processing crude oil, the company explained that such blending practices are standard in the global petroleum industry.
Supporting NNPCL’s claims, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) visited the refinery on December 9 and confirmed it was operational. Additionally, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) affirmed that the production of petroleum oils had resumed.
