Marketers and merchants of petroleum products will begin lifting Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the Port Harcourt Refining Company this week, assuming no last-minute changes to preparations.
Joseph Obele, Publicity Secretary of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, confirmed this in an exclusive chat with our correspondent.
According to Obele, since the refinery began operations in November, it has solely supplied fuel to retail outlets operated by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Though merchants continue to load fuel from the NNPCL, Obele explained that the items they currently acquire from the state-owned oil business are imported.
He expressed worry that the NNPCL was selling PMS to retailers in Port Harcourt at prices higher than those in Lagos State, urging the refinery to sell at N899 per litre rather than N970.
“NNPC is still telling us to buy at a rate different from the rate they are selling to Lagos at the moment because of logistics. So, Port Harcourt retail outlet owners are not really comfortable with that. Hence, the Port Harcourt refinery will start servicing us this week.
“We are also requesting that the same rate NNPC is selling to our members in Lagos should be the rate they will be selling to us over here in Port Harcourt too. We are not really comfortable with that disparity,” he disclosed.
Speaking on whether or not marketers in Port Harcourt and environs have started buying directly from the NNPC refinery, he replied, “No, but it will commence this week. The trucks loading out are for the NNPC retail outlets only.”
After many postponements, the NNPC stated in November that the old 60,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt refinery would begin operations.
The NNPC guaranteed that the rehabilitation of the new Port Harcourt refinery, which has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, will be completed soon.
Olufemi Soneye, NNPC spokesman, acknowledged that the refinery currently generates naphtha, which is blended to produce petrol.
