The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) has unexpectedly halted its crude oil processing operations just three days after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd announced the resumption of activities at the refinery. This development has raised concerns and sparked discussions about the operational status and transparency of the refinery's activities.
According to reports, a visit to the refinery on November 29 revealed that the facility was inactive, with no visible signs of operation. Workers at the site indicated that the refinery was undergoing a calibration process, which might extend into the following week.
This contradicts earlier claims by the NNPC that petroleum products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and Household Kerosene (HHK), were being loaded onto trucks from the refinery.
An anonymous source within the refinery disclosed that the products being loaded were actually "dead stock" from before the facility's shutdown in 2015/2016.
The source explained, "Before the refinery was shut down between 2015/2016, we had dead stock left in the tank, including some Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel)." These products required separation from water to be usable, indicating they were not freshly refined.
Despite these revelations, Femi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, maintained that the refinery was operating at 60 percent capacity, processing 60,000 barrels per day. He dismissed claims by a local community leader, Timothy Mgbere, who stated that the refinery was not producing fuel, as "sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance."
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