The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has confirmed that the Port Harcourt refinery is selling petrol at N1,030 per liter. This announcement came after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) claimed that the refinery was functional.
In a statement released on Thursday night, PETROAN spokesman Joseph Obele stated that NNPC Retail Ltd had officially announced the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at the Port Harcourt refinery as N1,030 per liter. Obele added that the product request portal was open for booking and request.
“NNPC Retail Ltd has officially announced the PMS price at the Port Harcourt refinery as N1,030 per litre. It was also communicated to PETROAN that the product request portal was open for booking/request,” Obele stated.
PETROAN’s strategic pricing team is currently analyzing the most favorable price for its members. Obele stated, “We are open to patronizing all the refineries in Nigeria.” PETROAN also urged NNPC Retail to reduce the price further to give Nigerians a blissful Yuletide celebration.
This announcement comes after the Dangote refinery recently announced a N20 reduction in the price of its PMS, putting it at N970 instead of N990.
Obele also addressed claims that the Port Harcourt refinery was not working as claimed. He stated, “We state emphatically that the old Port Harcourt refinery is functional and producing refined petroleum products at the moment.”
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the top management of NNPC, led by Mele Kyari, took stakeholders and journalists to the plant to provide first-hand information and to see things for themselves. The old Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%.
Obele noted that this is contrary to speculations that the revamped refinery was a mere blending plant and unproductive. He added that PETROAN has direct access to the plant on the authorization of management and encouraged those doubting the functional status of the plant to contact NNPC management for a facility tour.
“As part of PETROAN’s oversight function as key stakeholders, we have direct access to the plant on the authorization of management, and we will encourage whoever is doubting the functional status of the plant to contact NNPC management for facility tour rather than spreading misleading information,” Obele stated.
Obele further stated that the functional plant in operation is the old refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, while the new Port Harcourt refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day is still under rehabilitation and due to commence production soon.
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“It is more important to state here that the functional plant in operation is the old refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, while the new Port Harcourt refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day is still under rehabilitation which is due to commence production soon as announced by the management of NNPCL. Both Refineries are within the same complex at Alesa Eleme in Rivers State,” Obele explained.
He also mentioned that the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, led by Sen. Kawu Sumaila, verified the authenticity of production at the Port Harcourt refinery during a fact-finding visit to the site on Thursday.
“The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources under the leadership of Sen. Kawu Sumaila in conjunction with stakeholders and members of the host community verified the authenticity of production at the Port Harcourt refinery during a fact-finding visit to the site on Thursday,” Obele stated.
Obele concluded by stating that PETROAN supports the proposed planned privatization of the nation-owned refineries in a credible and transparent manner. He also expressed concerns about the condition of the Eleme East-west road, which poses a serious threat to petroleum trucks transporting flammable products from the refinery depots.
“Most worrisome as a threat to lives and properties is the ugly condition of the Eleme East-west road. The road poses a serious threat to petroleum trucks that will be transporting flammable products from the refinery depots. PETROAN encourages the Federal Ministry of Works under which the project was awarded to RCC to facilitate the ongoing repairs of the road,” Obele concluded.
The confirmation of the Port Harcourt refinery’s functionality and the announcement of the petrol price at N1,030 per litre have sparked mixed reactions from Nigerians. While some have expressed skepticism about the refinery’s ability to meet the country’s petrol demands, others have welcomed the development as a positive step towards reducing the country’s reliance on petrol imports.
