The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Thursday hinted that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations this month with a production target of between 10 and 12 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to be supplied to marketers.
The association’s National Operations Controller, Alhaji Zarma Mustapha, who made this disclosure during an interview with Channels Television, said that the operations of the rehabilitated refinery would increase the supply of petrol by between 11 and 15 million litres daily and help in abating the current lingering fuel scarcity nationwide.
The IPMAN leader explained that the refinery would operate with government’s control and supply products to marketers at prevailing market prices and by so doing, improve the efficiency of the downstream market.
He clarified: “There is this understanding that the Port Harcourt refinery is going to perform independently and sell at whatever prevailing market price for them to recover their cost.
“It is not going to be run like a government entity as it has been doing before. I believe that the refinery is coming up will really boost the demand and supply of PMS to nothing less than 11 to 15 million litres daily.
“I am confident and optimistic that this August deadline is going to be a realistic deadline. It will come on stream and fully produce all the necessary components that the refinery is supposed to produce. At least, at its capacity of 60,000 barrels, can give you up to 10 to 12 million litres of PMS”, added.
On whether the refinery’s operations will reduce fuel price or not, the industry expert explained that since the owners would be buying crude at international market price, they would have to recover their cost for sustainability of the plant’s operations.
Mustapha explained: “It depends on how much they are willing to sell and how much they get the crude because they are buying the crude at an international price too. They have to pay back the loan they took also.
“The $1.5 billion is a loan they took from one of these African financial institutions. I don’t know which one among them. They took the loan with the promise of paying back with whatever recoup from the earnings from the refinery”, the IPMAN leader added.
