PUNCH
Less than a month after the Port Harcourt Refining Company appeared to have resumed production, the facility has stopped working.
Our correspondent, who visited the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, observed that the lifting of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) had stopped.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the lifting of petrol actually stopped last Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty.
While about 18 trucks littered the stretch of the busy road leading to the refinery itself, nine trucks were spotted inside the parking yard, while the loading bay was empty.
The depot, which is usually a beehive of activities where tankers scramble for space at the parking yard, was a shadow of itself with literally no vehicular or human activity relating to operations.
$1.5bn celebration
Recall that the inauguration of the 60,000 barrel per day production capacity plant by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, was met with celebration and fanfare. This was after $1.5bn was approved in March 2021 and spent on the rehabilitation of the facility.
During the re-opening of the facility, there was lifting of petrol to the excitement of the cheering crowd.
However, less than 10 trucks of petrol were lifted that day as against widespread claims that about 200 trucks carried petrol out of the bay.
Our correspondent also reported that no sooner had Kyari returned to Abuja than things returned to the old way, amidst allegations by stakeholders that the petrol lifted during the inauguration was old stock from the storage tank.
When Saturday PUNCH first visited the refinery three weeks ago, it was discovered that the loading bay was deserted without the lifting of products.
In response to the discovery, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said operations were scaled down due to the calibration of meters at the loading bay and de-watering of the old stock, which had to be emptied to pave the way to receiving newly refined products.
A fortnight ago, tanker drivers drove in and started loading once again.
Journalists were also taken on a guided tour of the refinery, led by its Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja.
Onoja stated, “The plant is running and we are trucking out our products. We have carried out an extensive revamp of this plant and changed most of the equipment.
“The pump and instrumentation, the cables are all brand new. So what we have done here is massive change and upgrade of the plant.”
Afterward, there was marked improvement as about 11 trucks lifted products, even as it was better the next day.
However, when Saturday PUNCH visited on Thursday, it was learnt that production activities stopped one week ago.
A handful of drivers were seen sleeping in their trucks while doing nothing.
One of them, who spoke Hausa, said he learned the lifting of PMS would resume next Monday.
He, however, expressed doubt about the information as he counted the number of days with his fingers and muttered, “Three days; they said they would load on Monday.”
The number of workers and visitors could easily be counted as there were more security men clad in black trousers and blue shirts.
The guards were stationed at the entrance of the depot and the loading bay…
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