- Kperogi: “Port-Harcourt Refinery Might Just be Like Nigeria Air”
- NNPCL: “Port-Harcourt Refinery Is Working and Has Started Production of Petrol, Kerosene, Diesel, Others”
By Abiola Olawale
Concerns are starting to arise regarding the actual condition of the Port Harcourt refinery, located in Alesa Eleme, southeast of Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
This is as some observers including Farooq Kperogi, a Nigerian-born university don based in the United States are increasingly expressing doubt about the refinery’s operational status and its ability to meet production demands.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), confirmed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery has begun production of petroleum products after several failed commencement deadlines.
A statement issued by Olufemi Soneye, the spokesperson of the NNPCL revealed that the refinery has kicked off at 60 per cent capacity.
He noted that the Refinery is processing 60,000 barrels per day of crude.
However, Speaking on the development, a Nigerian-American professor, author, media scholar, and newspaper columnist, Farooq Kperogi, said he took his time to fact-check the NNPCL’s statement.
Kperogi detailed an incident in which he contacted a friend, who he described as a petroleum industry expert, to ascertain the current status of the Port Harcourt refinery.
According to Kperogi the expert subsequently reached out to another colleague employed at the refinery to gather further information.
Kperogi noted that the refinery employee responded to the inquiry by sending an image of Nigeria Air, which might suggest underlying implications regarding the operational conditions within the industry.
Kperogi said he was shocked when his friend returned to him, giving him the feedback.
The university teacher wondered whether the Port Harcourt refinery is a similar case to the Nigeria Air.
It would be recalled that the Federal government recently announced the suspension of Nigeria Air, a national carrier project that was established by the immediate past administration.
The New Diplomat reports that the Nigeria Air project had been surrounded by controversy and scepticism from its inception, with various stakeholders questioning its viability and authenticity.
Kperogi stated: “I decided to fact-check the buzz about the Port Harcourt Refinery supposedly springing back to life, so I reached out to an oil industry expert friend of mine.
“After all, if this miracle were true, it’d easily be the best plot twist in Nigeria’s story since Jollof Rice dethroned its competitors.
“My petrol industry expert friend said he’d ask a friend of his who works at the refinery to verify the claims.
“Instead of a wordy explanation or even a simple “yes” or “no,” he said the Port Harcourt Refinery guy responded with a single, devastatingly eloquent gesture: he sent him a picture of Nigeria Air.
“I am still trying to work out what he was trying to tell me🤔!” he wrote.
“Reader, I think we both know the translation: dreams may take flight, but some never leave the runway.
“Seriously, though, at this rate, to not give up on Nigeria is to be a masochist with a superabundant love for perpetual emotional self-flagellation.”
This comes after a report published by SaharaReporters claimed that the NNPCL is not trucking out Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from the Port Harcourt Refinery.
However, the NNPCL in a statement issued by Soneye, described the report as false and baseless.
Soneye r”maintained that the Port Harcourt refinery has begun production of Kerosene, diesel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, among others.
The statement reads in part: “We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products. For clarity, the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%. The refinery is producing the following daily outputs:
• Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha): Blended into 1.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS or petrol)
• Kerosene: 900,000 litres
• Automotive Gas Oil (AGO or Diesel): 1.5 million litres
• Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO): 2.1 million litres
• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): Additional volumes”
