The Port Harcourt Refining Company appears to have resumed operations less than a month ago, but the facility has since shut down.
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, Saturday PUNCH visited the refinery and discovered that the loading of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also referred to as gasoline, had stopped.
It was seen that the newly restored refinery’s 18-arm loading bay was entirely empty.
In fact, the lifting of gasoline had ceased on Friday, December 13, one week prior. Nine trucks were positioned in the parking yard, while eighteen others were parked along the main route that led to the refinery. But the loading bay, which is usually a hive of activity, was strangely deserted, with no tanker movements or operations in sight.
A Milestone of $1.5 Billion….
Mele Kyari, the CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, presided over a lavish ceremony on November 26, 2024, to reopen the refinery. The occasion was the end of a $1.5 billion restoration project that was authorized in March 2021. To the cheers of an enthusiastic audience, some gasoline was hoisted as part of the grand celebration of the re-commissioning.
Less than ten trucks were filled at the inauguration, despite reports that 200 trucks were loaded. Stakeholders claim that the gasoline removed during the ceremony was outdated supply from storage tanks, and the facility reportedly returned to its previous state shortly after Kyari’s return to Abuja.
The loading port was seen to be vacant and inactive three weeks ago. According to the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, this is because old gasoline stockpiles were dewatered and equipment was calibrated in order to make room for fresh supplies.
After two weeks, trucks started carrying fuel once more, and operations briefly resumed. “The factory is working, and we are trucking out our products,” Ibrahim Onoja, the managing director of the refinery, said during a media tour. The majority of the equipment in this plant has been replaced as part of a comprehensive overhaul. All of the wires, instruments, and pump are brand new. Thus, we have significantly upgraded and changed the plant here.
Operations improved slightly after his comments, loading about 11 trucks with fuel in a single day and increasing the next day. But a week ago, production stopped entirely once more.
Only a few truck drivers are still working at the site today, and the most of them are spotted dozing off in their cars. According to The Punch, one driver said he had heard that loading would start up again on Monday, but he was skeptical of the information.
Mr. Dappa Jubobaraye, a marketer of petroleum products, expressed disapproval of the condition of the nation’s refineries, claiming that since the inauguration, no significant production has occurred. He said, “It was all just for show.”
There weren’t many employees or guests at the refinery, and security guards in blue shirts and black pants were positioned all over the loading bay and depot. They seemed to occupy themselves with discussion, as there was nothing to keep an eye on.
“They created that show with the intention of misleading Nigerians into believing that the refinery is operating,” he said. Only four or five trucks loaded goods that day.
Before they began operations, the loading meter had not yet been calibrated. Only three of the bay’s eighteen loading arms are operational, and they leak. To demonstrate that they are working, they have been attempting to load three, four, five, and occasionally ten trucks.
The NNPC has not yet set prices for the independent marketers to purchase tickets and begin loading products from this depot since Mele Kyari arrived and departed. Only their own mega stations are receiving them.
As of right now, PMS loading is not occurring since they have no plan of making this location function. The sole purpose is to mislead the public.
When you get at Depot, you will notice that the trucks are packed, giving the impression that loading is underway, but in reality, they are not. Because they can’t waste time here, some tanker drivers have left.
“How can you come here hoping to load and then stay here with your vehicle for two weeks, for what?” he went on. They were loading up to 10, 15, but less than 20, when the work ceased last week.
Typically, one of the loading bay’s arms can load 20 to 30 trucks in a single day. However, only three of the eighteen loading arms in the bay are currently being used, and those three are exclusively for PMS. DPK (kerosene) and AGO (diesel) have not yet been loaded. And what worries the average person the most is kerosene.