THE management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is currently faced with a deluge of questions arising from the operations of the newly rehabilitated Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC).
Questions dogging the refinery’s operation include the veracity of petroleum products loading at the refinery as claimed by the NNPCL when it conducted stakeholders around the facility when the refinery resumed operations on Tuesday, November 26.
The NNPCL announced the resumption of business at the PHRC which raised hope for Nigeria’s meeting up with local petroleum needs.
However, the operational capacity of the refinery came under intense scrutiny hours after its reopening.
The scrutiny followed controversies that petroleum products loaded from the facilities were not newly refined but products stored in the storage tank of the facility in the last three years.
For instance, in a monitored interview at Arise Television on Thursday, the secretary of the Alesa Community stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, who appeared as a guest alleged that the 60,000 barrels per day had yet to become fully operational, contrary to the position of the NNPCL.
Mgbere also alleged that the refinery only loaded six trucks of petroleum products on Tuesday despite the NNPCL stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily.
Commenting in a similar vein, an informed oil sector governance expert, Henry Ademola Adigun, said the refinery was producing other petroleum additives but not petrol as widely claimed by the national oil company.
Fuel additives are substances that improve the burning of fuel in the cylinder, provide fuel economy, and reduce harmful exhaust emissions.
“It is producing other additives and has not got to the level of petroleum production till the first quarter (Q1)next year,” Adigun exclusively told The ICIR.
In a further clarification arising from the controversies, the NNPCL on Friday, November 29, said the PHRC had not yet commenced bulk sales or opened its purchase portal.
The NNPCL made this known in reaction to reports that the refinery would sell its petrol at N1,030 per litre.
Non-commencement of the bulk sales and sales portal for marketers tends to cast more doubt about the operationalisation of the refinery with the Punch Newspaper further reporting that “there was no activity at the refinery site,” as workers met on the site claimed that the refinery was undergoing calibration which might last till next week.
Commenting further on the development, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) national public relations officer, Joseph Obele, in a statement on Friday, November 29, said NNPC Retail Ltd had officially announced the petrol price at the Port Harcourt refinery as N1,030 per litre.
Obele said the company communicated to PETROAN that the product request portal was open for booking /request.
“Meanwhile, PETROAN’s strategic pricing team is currently analysing the most favourable price for her members as we are open to patronising all the refineries in Nigeria. PETROAN also employs NNPC Retail Ltd should further reduce the price in view of giving Nigerians a blissful Yuletide celebration,” Obele said.
In his reaction Friday night, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, said essential processes were still being finalised, noting that it was still selling the products purchased from the Dangote Refinery.
The NNPCL assured that its prices are reviewed and adjusted periodically as necessary to reflect operational realities, adding that the products from the Port Harcourt Refinery are exclusively for its retail stores at this stage.
The national oil company advised the public to disregard any misleading pricing information, noting that official announcements would be made if and when price reviews occur.
“The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) has not yet commenced bulk sales or opened its purchase portal, as essential processes are still being finalised.
“Currently, the products we are selling originate from the Dangote Refinery and include applicable Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) fees. Products from PHRC are exclusively for our retail stores at this stage. Our pricing is reviewed and adjusted periodically as necessary to reflect operational realities.
“We advise the public to disregard any misleading information regarding pricing. Official announcements will be made if and when price reviews occur,” Soneye said.
On Tuesday, the NNPC Ltd said the Port Harcourt refinery had commenced production after years of rehabilitation.
The company said the refinery began truckloading of petroleum products the same day.
The Port Harcourt Refineries comprise two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.
The refinery was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.
The ICIR reported that the board and management of the NNPCL said the 60,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery was operating at 70 per cent of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90 per cent.
The NNPCL in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 27, said the refinery was producing the following daily outputs: straight-run gasoline (naphtha): blended into 1.4 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS or petrol); kerosene: 900,000 litres; and automotive gas oil (AGO or diesel): 1.5 million litres.
The refinery also produces low-pour fuel oil (LPFO): 2.1 million litres and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
The clarification by the national oil company followed myriads of controversies that followed the official opening of the refinery with some information dished out by the NNPCL considered as half-truths and lies.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.