NNPC - Port Harcourt Refinery To Resume Production This Month

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday, stated that the Port Harcourt Refinery will resume crude oil production by the end of June and will contribute about five million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol to the Nigerian market.

Speaking during a tour of NNPC retail outlets in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Joseph Dawha said that the NNPC was carrying out a phased implementation of the rehabilitation of the refineries, stating that work at the Port Harcourt refinery is almost complete and will soon start producing at 80 percent of its installed capacity.

“We took a conscious decision that if the refineries are not in a good state to process crude for maximum gains, then there was no point in sending crude to the refineries. What we do is to try and fix it, so that by the time it starts processing the crude, then we get real value for the crude we have sent to the refineries.

“We are satisfied with the level of work carried out so far on the Port Harcourt refinery so that if we start processing crude now, we will get real value, and they will not be any value distortion that would have been the case if the refineries are not operating optimally.”

In his reaction to the ongoing fuel scarcity, Dahwa blamed the situation on distribution challenges recorded in some parts of the country, particularly in Lagos.

However, he assured Nigerians that the perennial fuel scarcity will be addressed before the end of the week, as the NNPC currently has about 1.1 billion litres of petrol in its storage. The stock is equivalent to 27 days sufficiency. He added that the NNPC has deployed 428 truckloads of fuel to Abuja and across the country, in conjunction with the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC