The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has disclosed that petrol produced at the Port Harcourt refinery is being sold at N1,030 per litre.
This announcement follows claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the refinery is operational.
In a statement released on Thursday night, PETROAN spokesman Joseph Obele confirmed that NNPC Retail Limited had informed the association about the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) at the refinery.
“NNPC Retail Ltd has officially announced the PMS price at the Port Harcourt refinery as N1,030 per litre. It was also communicated to PETROAN that the product request portal was open for booking/request,” Obele stated.
He noted that PETROAN’s strategic pricing team is analyzing the best price options for its members and expressed the association’s readiness to patronize all refineries in the country. PETROAN also called on NNPC Retail to reduce the price to enable Nigerians to enjoy a more affordable Yuletide season.
This announcement comes after the Dangote Refinery recently reduced its PMS price by N20, bringing it down to N970 per litre.
Responding to allegations that the Port Harcourt refinery is non-functional, Obele emphasized its operational status.
“We state emphatically that the old Port Harcourt refinery is functional and producing refined petroleum products at the moment,” he said.
He explained that on November 26, 2024, NNPCL’s top management, led by Mele Kyari, conducted a facility tour with stakeholders and journalists to showcase the plant’s activities. According to Obele, the old refinery is operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to increase production to 90%.
Obele clarified that the functional plant is the old refinery, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, the new refinery, which has a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, remains under rehabilitation and is expected to commence production soon. Both facilities are located within the same complex at Alesa Eleme, Rivers State.
Further evidence of the refinery’s functionality was provided by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, chaired by Senator Kawu Sumaila, which conducted a fact-finding visit on Thursday.
“The senate committee saw the plant functional and petroleum trucks loading at the Port Harcourt refinery depot,” Obele said.
PETROAN’s leadership, led by National President Dr. Billy Harry, participated in the visit to welcome the committee and reiterate the association’s readiness to commence loading operations at the refinery.
Obele also voiced PETROAN’s support for the planned privatization of state-owned refineries, urging a credible and transparent process to hand over the plants to capable private firms.
However, he raised concerns about the state of the Eleme-East-West Road, which poses a risk to petroleum truck drivers transporting flammable products.
“Most worrisome as a threat to lives and properties is the ugly condition of the Eleme East-West road. The road poses a serious threat to petroleum trucks that will be transporting flammable products from the refinery depots. PETROAN encourages the Federal Ministry of Works under which the project was awarded to RCC to facilitate the ongoing repairs of the road,” Obele concluded.
