By Godsent Ogbebor
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has refuted claims made by a leader of the Alesa community in Rivers State, Timothy Mgbere, who alleged that the Port Harcourt refinery is not operational.
Mgbere, while speaking on national television on Thursday, accused NNPCL of misleading Nigerians by claiming the refinery was processing crude oil.
Responding to the allegations in a statement on Friday, NNPCL’s Chief Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, described Mgbere’s comments as uninformed. Soneye said that while he ordinarily wouldn’t respond, it was important to clarify the facts.
“He (Mgbere) claimed the old Port Harcourt Refinery was operating minimally and not producing petrol (PMS). His argument was based on the location of PMS truck loading, which he said took place at the gantry of the new refinery instead of the old refinery,” Soneye explained.
“This shows a lack of understanding of how the refinery operates. Both the old and new Port Harcourt refineries are integrated, sharing utilities like power and storage tanks. The loading gantry serves both facilities, meaning products from the old refinery can also be dispatched through the new gantry,” he added.
Soneye pointed out a contradiction in Mgbere’s claims. He noted that Mgbere referred to PMS being loaded as “old stock” from the old refinery but failed to explain how it could move to the new refinery’s gantry if the facilities weren’t interconnected.
“According to his flawed argument, old PMS stock can be moved to the new gantry for loading, but newly produced PMS from the old refinery cannot. This is simply ignorance at play,” Soneye said.
On the refinery’s capacity, Soneye clarified, “The refinery’s nameplate capacity is 60,000 barrels per day, and it is currently operating at 90% throughput. This translates to the production of 1.4 million litres of PMS daily, alongside other products like diesel and kerosene.”
He urged the public to disregard Mgbere’s comments, describing them as baseless and intended to mislead.
“His claims are not only mischievous but also reflect a complete lack of understanding of refinery operations,” the statement concluded.
