The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has clarified that the 60,000-barrel-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery is operating at 90% capacity, contrary to claims by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), which stated the refinery was running at 70%.
In a statement released on Friday by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, NNPCL confirmed that the refinery is performing well above expectations, stating, “Although the nameplate capacity of the refinery is 60,000 barrels of oil per day, it is now functioning at 90% throughput, producing Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha), blended into 1.4 million litres of PMS, along with diesel and kerosene.”
PETROAN Oversight and Refinery Operations
PETROAN, in its earlier statement, had recognized the operational status of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery, while also mentioning that the New Port Harcourt Refinery, with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, remains under rehabilitation. Both refineries are located within the same complex in Alesa Eleme, Rivers State. PETROAN had noted, “It is more important to state here that the functional plant at operation is the old refinery with the capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, while the new Port Harcourt refinery with the capacity of 200,000 barrels per day is still under rehabilitation and due to commence production soon.”
Response to Misinformation
NNPCL also addressed claims made by Timothy Mgbere, a self-proclaimed community representative, who alleged that the refinery’s operations were overstated and involved blending old stock. NNPCL dismissed his assertions as “a crass display of ignorance,” explaining that the Old and New Port Harcourt Refineries share common utilities, including power, storage tanks, and a single product loading terminal.
NNPCL clarified, “The Old and New Port Harcourt Refineries have since been integrated with one single terminal for product load-out. They share common utilities like power and storage tanks. This means that storage tanks and loading gantry, which he claimed belong to the New Port Harcourt Refinery, can also receive products from the Old Port Harcourt Refinery.”
Further refuting Mgbere’s claims, NNPCL pointed out the contradiction in his argument. “The same person who claimed that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery has its own separate loading gantry from that of the New Port Harcourt Refinery further went on to contradict himself by saying that the PMS loaded from the supposed gantry of the New Port Harcourt Refinery was ‘old stock’ from the Old Port Harcourt Refinery. So, how did the purported ‘old stock’ move from the Old Port Harcourt Refinery to the loading gantry of the New Port Harcourt Refinery?”
NNPCL called for the public to disregard the misinformation, labeling it as “obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance.”
Call for Public Caution
NNPCL urged Nigerians to focus on the refinery’s achievements in increasing domestic refining capacity and reducing reliance on imported petroleum products. The reactivation of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery represents a significant step toward energy self-sufficiency and economic progress for Nigeria.
