The excitement surrounding the resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt Refining Company on Tuesday may have faded, leaving many Nigerians with unfulfilled hopes and expectations.
A Saturday PUNCH visit to the refinery on Friday revealed that there was no activity on site, with some personnel telling our correspondent that the facility was undergoing calibration, which might go till next week.
The Port Harcourt Refinery has encountered several delays and missed deadlines for resuming operations.
Melee Kyari, Group CEO of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, opened the new facility at the refinery’s Area 5 terminal on Tuesday.
It was claimed that 200 petrol trucks loaded daily from the factory.
Melee Kyari, Group CEO of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, opened the new facility at the refinery’s Area 5 terminal on Tuesday. It was claimed that 200 petrol trucks loaded daily from the factory.
However, the news was met with scepticism, as stories spread that the trucks were laden with outdated products from the storage tanks. When our correspondent visited the Port Harcourt Refinery Area 5, he saw no evidence of activity.
According to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the loaded trucks included “dead stock.”.
He said, “Before the refinery was shut down between 2015 and 2016, we had dead stock left in the tank, including some Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel).
“So, these products were in large quantities in stores in those tanks. During the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Old Area 5, those products were evacuated from the tanks for storage.”
However, he mentioned that the large quantity of refined petrol was “off-spec,” requiring separation from water to obtain the main product in preferred colours.
“But for DPK, it is in large quantity, but they have not pushed it from the tank where it was kept after refined, ready for commercial purposes.
“So, the product that was loaded was dead stock; that is the old product that was in the system. So, after these dead stocks, they will have to clean the tank, remove all the debris before pumping the new project into that tank, and redye it,” the source said.
The worker stated that refineries worldwide should operate electronically, not manually.
“But what they are trying to do at the Port Harcourt Refinery is manual, which cannot match the new digital pumps. Most of the pumps used for the event were refurbished,” he added.
He explained that during Kyari’s visit on Tuesday, seven trucks were ready for loading, but only five were filled with fuel.
Taken Ikpaki, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, expressed excitement to journalists attending the facility’s inauguration on Tuesday.
He indicated that more trucks were scheduled to arrive at the plant to carry merchandise in the coming days.
However, the number of trucks entering the refinery has decreased rather than increased. When our journalist arrived about 1.30pm, he noticed that the majority of workers and drivers were idle because no machinery was in action.
Nine trucks were spotted parked, but the loading bays, numbered one through 18, were empty and unattended, with several workers resting down.
Speaking on the lack of loading activity, a worker in overalls said, “They are de-watering, removing the water under the PMS. Maybe there will be loading after that, but we don’t know what time today.”
Another worker at the loading bay claimed that ongoing calibration was the reason for the delay.
“They are calibrating the meters,” he said tersely.
A source stated that calibration would continue until Monday, with the loading of DPK (kerosene) and AGO (diesel) expected to start by then.
Speaking to reporters, a resident of Alode in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, who simply identified himself as Osaro, said, “After that ceremony with Mele Kyari where they said the refinery had started operation and loading was taking place, what happened afterwards? They continued loading on air, that is, on the pages of newspapers and social media.”
When asked about the lack of activities on Friday, Dr. Joseph Obelle, National Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum Product Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, stated that it was due to ongoing calibration.
Obelle, the PETROAN spokesman, said, “They are calibrating the loading pumps. They will be done today.”
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Petroleum visited the refinery on Thursday for a facility tour. The outcome of the visit had not yet been made public. Calls and SMS messages to the NNPC’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, were not returned as of the time of reporting this article.
However, in a response, the NNPC rejected assertions made by Timothy Mgbere, an Alesa community leader, that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing petroleum. Soneye accused Mgbere of blatant ignorance about how a refinery operates.
He said, “The old and new Port Harcourt refineries have since been integrated with one single terminal for product load-out. They share common utilities like power and storage tanks.
“This means that storage tanks and loading gantry, which he claimed belong to the new Port-Harcourt refinery, can also receive products from the old Port Harcourt refinery.”
He urged the public to disregard claims borne out of “sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance.”
