Reports that the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) didn’t truck out newly refined petroleum, but stored product might have been confirmed by emerging reports.
Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), had last week announced that the refinery had become operational.
NNPCL had also said that trucks had commenced loading petroleum products, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and HHK also popularly referred to as kerosene, from the refinery.
However, during an interview monitored on Arise TV, the Secretary of the Alesa community stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, alleged that the 60,000 barrels per day capacity facility was yet to become fully operational.
He argued that the refinery only loaded six trucks of petroleum products on Tuesday despite the NNPCL stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily.
Interestingly, a new report by Punch has justified Mgbere’s position, revealing that a visit to the refinery on Friday, November 29, showed an eerily inactive facility, with no discernible signs of operation.
According to the publication, several workers at the refinery confided that the facility was undergoing a calibration process, which might persist till next week.
Punch, also reported that an anonymous refinery official disclosed that the loaded trucks on Tuesday, Nov. 26, actually contained “dead stock.”
The report noted that the official, who chose to remain anonymous, elaborated thus, “Before the refinery was shut down between 2015/2016, 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.”
Further, he noted 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.”
It would be recalled that the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Femi Soneye, had on Tuesday, November 26, claimed that the refinery was operating at 60 percent capacity, processing a substantial 60,000 barrels per day.
Soneye also rubbished claims by an Alesa community leader, Mgbere, that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing fuel.
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 belongs to the new Port-Harcourt Refinery can also receive products from the Old Port Harcourt Refinery.”
He called on the public to disregard claims borne out of “sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance.”
Meanwhile, industry experts also dared NNPCL to begin the sale of products to oil marketers if truly the refinery is functional.
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