Port Harcourt Refinery Halts Operations Despite Eating Up $1.5bn

Port Harcourt, Nigeria – Operations at the Port Harcourt Refining Company have come to a halt less than a month after it appeared to resume production. The facility, which underwent a $1.5 billion rehabilitation, is no longer lifting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

PUNCH reported that a visit to the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, revealed an empty 18-arm loading bay, with tanker drivers idle and waiting for activities to resume. According to sources, the last lifting of PMS occurred on Friday, December 13.

The refinery’s re-commissioning on November 26, 2024, by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) CEO Mele Kyari was met with celebration, signalling the refinery’s long-anticipated return to production. However, critics allege that the petrol lifted during the inauguration event was old stock from storage tanks rather than freshly refined products.

Stakeholder Concerns

Petroleum product marketer, Mr Dappa Jubobaraye, alleged that the resumption was staged to mislead Nigerians. “It was intended to deceive Nigerians that the refinery is working,” he claimed, pointing out that the facility’s infrastructure, including loading arms and meters, is still incomplete.

“Of the 18 loading arms, only three are functional, and they have leakages,” he added. Jubobaraye further stated that since the inauguration, independent marketers have yet to load products from the depot due to unresolved pricing and operational issues.

Refinery’s Decline Post-Inauguration

Refinery officials initially attributed the suspension of activities to the calibration of meters and the de-watering of old stock to make way for new production. While a brief resumption saw a handful of trucks loaded daily, operations ceased entirely last week.

A truck driver waiting at the depot expressed scepticism about claims that loading would resume on Monday. “They said they would load on Monday, but I’m not sure,” he said.

Implications for Petroleum Supply

The halt in operations has raised concerns over the reliability of Nigeria’s refineries and the broader implications for fuel availability in the country. Critics argue that the refinery’s issues reflect deeper systemic problems, including mismanagement and underinvestment in critical infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the NNPC is yet to release a statement regarding the report as efforts to reach spokesperson Femi Soneye for comment by PUNCH were unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered at the time of reporting.

The situation at the Port Harcourt Refinery underscores the challenges facing Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, even as the government continues to push for self-sufficiency in fuel production.