The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has dismissed claims made by a community leader from Alesa, Rivers State, who alleged that the Port Harcourt refinery is not yet producing fuel.
In a statement issued on Friday, NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye criticized the comments made by the community leader, describing them as a clear misunderstanding of refinery operations. While Soneye said he would typically ignore such remarks, he felt the need to clarify the situation.
Timothy Mgbere, a reported leader in the Alesa community, appeared on national television on Thursday, accusing NNPCL of misleading the public by claiming that the Port Harcourt refinery is processing crude oil.
Soneye, however, countered that the Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 90% capacity, stressing that Mgbere’s allegations were unfounded and inconsistent with the facts. He explained that the refinery has been actively producing and distributing fuel, and that the community leader’s claims contradicted the reality on the ground.
Addressing the specific points raised by Mgbere, Soneye pointed out that while the leader had acknowledged fuel being loaded from the refinery’s gantry, he dismissed it as “old stock” from the previous refinery. Soneye argued that this undermined the credibility of Mgbere’s allegations.
“Mgbere claimed that the old Port Harcourt refinery was only operating at a minimal level and was not processing PMS. He argued that the PMS truck-out was done at the gantry of the new Port Harcourt refinery rather than the old refinery gantry. This shows a lack of understanding of the refinery’s operations,” Soneye said.
He explained that both the old and new Port Harcourt refineries have been integrated into a single terminal for product load-out, sharing common utilities such as power and storage tanks. This means that both refineries can use the same storage tanks and loading equipment, which Mgbere mistakenly attributed only to the new refinery.
Soneye also highlighted that the refinery’s nameplate capacity is 60,000 barrels of oil per day, and it is currently producing at 90% capacity. This translates into the production of 1.4 million liters of PMS, in addition to other products like diesel and kerosene.
Soneye urged the public to disregard the misleading claims from the self-proclaimed “community leader,” describing them as an attempt at mischief and a clear display of ignorance about refinery operations.
