EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Petroleum Company NNPCL Yet To Start New Port Harcourt Refinery, Resumed Old Refinery Built In 1965 Which Produces Only Diesel

The Port Harcourt Refinery reopened by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is the old refinery built in 1965 which could produce only diesel and is of 60,000 barrels' capacity, some of the top staff have revealed to SaharaReporters.

SaharaReporters learnt that the Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State which was widely announced to have commenced crude oil processing, is not the new refinery built in 1989 and which is of 150,000 barrels per day.

The NNPCL had announced that its Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State had commenced crude oil processing.

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This had been disclosed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Femi Soneye, on Tuesday.

Soneye had revealed that the refinery would operate at 60 per cent capacity and process 60,000 bpd. 

“Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Production; Truck Loading Starts Today, Tuesday,” he had announced via his X handle. 

Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Production; Truck Loading Starts Today, Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/a3C2hyDFfy

— Femi Soneye (@FM_Soneye) November 26, 2024

Speaking with SaharaReporters, sources revealed that the President Bola Tinubu-led government was engaging in a propaganda and the new refinery of 150,000 barrels capacity was yet to commence operations. 

"The plant is running but it is the old one of 60 thousand capacity but you can’t get PMS (otherwise known as petrol) from it except diesel. The part that produces PMS is yet to start. 

"The refinery is in two parts. The old refinery built 1965 of 60, 000 barrel’s capacity which when commissioned will only give you 1million litres of PMS. You have the new refinery built in 1989 which is of 150,000 barrels per stream day.

"If commissioned, it will give you 10 million litres of PMS. As of today, when they say Port Harcourt refinery is coming on stream, they are referring to the old one which we were battling with for months," another top source revealed.

"The new one is far from ready. We are looking at 2026 for the new one to be ready. If we finally commission the old one, it will be insignificant because Nigeria will not feel the impact," the source noted.

Tuesday’s move by the NNPC had come after a series of failed deadlines for the commencement of production at the refinery in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State.