The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has dismissed claims suggesting that the bounced-back Port Harcourt refinery is not producing products, insisting that the plant is currently operating at 70 percent of its installed capacity.
NNPCL said the revival of the national asset remains a significant step forward after years of operational challenges and underperformance.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL Olufemi Soneye in a statement said the board of the management of the nation’s oil giant expresses heartfelt appreciation to Nigerians for their support and excitement over the safe and successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day old Port Harcourt refinery.
President Bola Tinubu had also on Tuesday acknowledged the pivotal role of former President Muhammadu Buhari in initiating the comprehensive rehabilitation of all the nation’s refineries and expressed gratitude to the African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank) for its confidence in financing this critical project.
According to Soneye, “We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products.”
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He said, “For clarity, the old Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70 percent of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90 percent.”
NNPCL explained that the refinery is producing the following daily output; Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha): Blended into 1.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS or petrol), Kerosene: 900,000 liters, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO or Diesel): 1.5 million liters, Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO): 2.1 million liters, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): Additional volumes.
The NNPCL spokesman explained that it is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications. Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes.
