The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has set the record straight on the operational capacity of the old Port Harcourt refinery, stating that it is currently working at 90% capacity, contrary to claims by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) that it was operating at 70%.
In a statement, NNPC’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, clarified that the refinery’s nameplate capacity is 60,000 barrels of oil per day, and it is currently producing at 90% throughput, translating to Straight-Run Gasoline (Naptha) blended into 1.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), aside from other products like diesel and kerosene.
NNPC also addressed allegations by a self-acclaimed “community person,” Timothy Mgbere, that the refinery was not worth celebrating, as it was merely blending and had pushed out old stock. The company described Mgbere’s claims as “obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance.”
NNPC explained that the Old and New Port Harcourt Refineries have been integrated, sharing common utilities like power and storage tanks. This means that storage tanks and loading gantry can receive products from both refineries, debunking Mgbere’s claim that the PMS truck-out was done at the gantry of the New Port Harcourt Refinery.
The company urged the public to disregard Mgbere’s claims, emphasizing that the Port Harcourt refinery’s restreaming and truck-out of PMS were genuine achievements worthy of celebration.
