The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has confirmed the resumption of production at the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Festus Osifo, President of PENGASSAN, made the announcement while addressing newsmen at the conclusion of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to NAN, He explained that the successful rehabilitation of the refinery was achieved through rigorous financial oversight and the active participation of unions in the management of the project.
Osifo added that the refinery is now producing key products such as diesel, kerosene, and petrol through its distillation unit.
Reflecting on past efforts to refurbish the refinery, He attributed their limited success to a lack of transparency and accountability and commended the establishment of a steering committee, which includes representatives from both PENGASSAN and NUPENG, aimed at ensuring transparency and proper management throughout the process.
While acknowledging that the refinery’s revival is a significant milestone, Osifo highlighted that its impact on fuel prices remains constrained by the devaluation of the naira. “With the exchange rate at about N1,700 to 1 dollar, the cost of goods, including petroleum products, is bound to remain high,” he said.
He reiterated PENGASSAN’s call for adopting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) ownership model for managing the country’s refineries. He also urged the government to involve reputable international oil companies with expertise in refinery management to replicate the success seen in the NLNG model for Nigeria’s other refineries.
Backstory
Following a previous report by Nairametrics, there were various controversies around the Port Harcourt refinery where Timothy Mgbere, the leader of Alesa community accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of misleading Nigerians by claiming that the Port Harcourt refinery is already processing crude oil. Soneye, NNPC spokesperson refuted these claims.
- He further claimed that the refinery was only operating skeletally and was not producing PMS while the NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye criticized the comments made by the community leader, describing them as a display of ignorance about refinery operations.
- Mgbere claimed that the old Port Harcourt Refinery was only operating skeletally and was not processing PMS. His proof was that the PMS truck-out was done at the gantry of the new Port Harcourt Refinery as against the gantry of the old Port Harcourt Refinery.
Soneye informed the public to disregard the claims of the self-acclaimed ‘community person’ which are obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance
