Port Harcourt refinery to begin operation this month — Marketers

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has announced that the Port Harcourt refinery is on track to meet its August deadline for producing petroleum products and will be able to supply 10 to 12 million liters of petrol to marketers. 

The National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Zarma Mustapha, made this statement in an interview with Channels TV on Thursday.  

Mustapha said the refinery will boost the supply of petroleum products in the country to about 11 to 15 million liters daily, and help ensure energy availability across the board.  

 

According to him, the refinery is set to operate independently and sell at the prevailing market price with little or no government interference.  

“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 before. I believe that the refinery 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 0,000 barrels, can give you 10 to 12 million litres of PMS,” he said. 

Price Reduction of PMS 

Commenting on whether the refinery will help reduce the price of petrol in the country, Mustapha said that might be the case if the operators decide to sell at a subsided rate.  

He, however, explained that the refinery has to recover its cost of operation, particularly the $1.5 billion loan it obtained from a creditor for its maintenance in 2021.  

Accordingly, the spokesperson of the marketer said since the operators are also buying crude at an international price, they will have to recover their cost also. 

“It depends on how much they are willing to sell. How much did they get the crude? Because they’re 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 of the refinery,” he added. 

What you should know

Despite being an oil-producing nation, Nigeria does not have a working public refinery. The country has four state-owned refineries, which are located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.   

The lack of functional refineries has forced Nigeria to rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products, which has had a significant impact on the country’s economy.   

NNPC boss, Mele Kyari, recently assured that the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operations this August. He also stated that the other three refineries in Kaduna and Warri would start operations in the second half of 2025.   

This announcement comes as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the nation’s refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.  

However, there are doubts about this pronouncement because this is not the first time Kyari has made such a projection. Previous deadlines for the resumption of refinery operations have not been met, leading to skepticism about the feasibility of the current timeline.