Port Harcourt Refinery Resumes Operations Amid Pricing Concerns
The recently rehabilitated Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced sales of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N1,045 per litre, surpassing the N970 per litre price set by Dangote Refinery by N75. This discrepancy was confirmed by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN).
The refinery resumed operations on Tuesday after years of dormancy, initially receiving commendations from various Nigerians and industry stakeholders. However, the higher fuel price relative to current ex-depot rates has raised concerns and has reportedly deterred marketers from sourcing products from the facility.
PETROAN’s National Public Relations Officer, Dr. Joseph Obele, stated to reporters, “Yes, the Port Harcourt refinery is selling petrol for N1,045 per litre to marketers, which is N75 more than Dangote’s pricing. This elevated price is a significant reason why marketers are hesitant to procure products from the refinery. Nevertheless, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer has guaranteed that the price will be adjusted downward.”
After experiencing seven delays, the Port Harcourt Refinery Company has finally started fuel production, asserting that it would supply a daily output of approximately 200 trucks. On its opening day, the refinery released about one million litres of refined products.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) officially relaunched the refinery, highlighting that the facility, which originally had a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, has been upgraded with contemporary equipment. Currently, the revamped refinery is operating at 70% of its installed capacity.
The NNPCL further detailed that the main products emerging from the refinery will include diesel and low-pour fuel oil, with daily outputs of 1.5 million litres and 2.1 million litres respectively. This will be complemented by the production of Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha), yielding 1.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), along with 900,000 litres of kerosene and a further 2.1 million litres of low-pour fuel oil each day.
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