The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has debunked media reports insinuating that the recently revived Port Harcourt Refinery has shut down again.
The company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement indicated that preparation for the day’s loading operation was ongoing in the facility.
He clarified: “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.
“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC”, Soneye added.
He advised the public to disregard reports about the shutdown of the plant, describing them “the figment of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”
On Friday, media reports claimed that the multibillion dollar Port Harcourt refinery had stopped operations due to undisclosed reasons less than three weeks after its rehabilitation by the Federal Government,
Some of the news reports indicated that as of yesterday the refinery had several trucks stranded at its premises while the loading bay was empty, indicating that lifting of products had ceased for some days.
An official of the refinery, who pleaded that his identity should not be made public, was quoted as telling the correspondent of a newspaper that “for three days now, we have not worked here.”
It would be recalled that last November 26, the 60,000 barrel per day production capacity facility was formally re-streamed by the NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, amid fanfare after the plant had remained in comatose for over 20 years
To resuscitate it, the Federal Government in 2021 approved a new $1.5 billion for its rehabilitation
