P’Harcourt Refinery Shuts Down Again After $1.5bn Rehabilitation
The Port Harcourt Refining Company has stopped working, less than a month after it appeared to have resumed production.
Osun Defender reports that on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, inaugurated the 60,000-barrel-per-day production capacity plant.
This was after $1.5bn was approved in March 2021 and spent on the rehabilitation of the facility.
During the re-opening of the facility, there was lifting of petrol to the excitement of the cheering crowd.
However, it was observed by a Punch correspondent who visited the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, that the lifting of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) had stopped.
The lifting of petrol actually stopped last Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty, according to sources.
While about 18 trucks littered the stretch of the busy road leading to the refinery itself, nine trucks were spotted inside the parking yard by the correspondent, while the loading bay was empty.
The depot, which is usually a beehive of activities where tankers scramble for space at the parking yard, was a shadow of itself with literally no vehicular or human activity relating to operations.
However, less than 10 trucks of petrol were lifted that day as against widespread claims that about 200 trucks carried petrol out of the bay.
Similarly, there were allegations by stakeholders that the petrol lifted during the inauguration was old stock from the storage tank.
However, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said operations were scaled down due to the calibration of meters at the loading bay and de-watering of the old stock, which had to be emptied to pave the way to receiving newly refined products.
Journalists were also taken on a guided tour of the refinery, led by its Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja.
Onoja stated, “The plant is running and we are trucking out our products. We have carried out an extensive revamp of this plant and changed most of the equipment.
“The pump and instrumentation, the cables are all brand new. So what we have done here is massive change and upgrade of the plant.”
Afterward, there was marked improvement as about 11 trucks lifted products, even as it was better the next day.
However, the refinery is back to default as it gathered that production activities stopped one week ago.
A handful of drivers were seen sleeping in their trucks while doing nothing when the correspondent visited.
One of them, who spoke Hausa, said he learned the lifting of PMS would resume next Monday.
He, however, expressed doubt about the information as he counted the number of days with his fingers and muttered, “Three days; they said they would load on Monday.”
The number of workers and visitors could easily be counted as there were more security men clad in black trousers and blue shirts.
The guards were stationed at the entrance of the depot and the loading bay, and inside the loading bay itself. They kept themselves busy as they chatted away.
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Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, another truck driver said, “It was Friday last week they loaded last. About 15 trucks or so loaded that day. Since then, not even a single truck has been loaded till now.”
Asked if any explanation was given, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody is giving us any information or telling us anything. Some trucks that were here have left. I’m just here because my director said I should wait a bit.”
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the NNPC, Femi Soneye, were abortive as he did not take his calls or respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing the report.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
