Port Harcourt Refinery Is Dead Asset Brought Back To Life – Tinubu’s Aide

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has berated critics over the controversy surrounding the commencement of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Naija News reports that Tinubu’s aide, in a statement via X, stated that the refinery is a dead asset that has been brought back to life but has been marred with criticism.

Ajayi maintained that refining may be a complex and technical subject, especially the process involved in getting the by-products out of crude oil.

According to the presidential aide, the uproar about blending and not refining petrol at the Port Harcourt Refinery is pointless.

He said, “A dead asset is brought back to life and all the naysayers care about is that it is only blending and not refining petrol. Is blending not part of the refining process?

“Refining may be a complex and technical subject especially the process involved in getting the by-products out of crude oil. Those who did chemistry even in secondary school will know that refining is all about fractional distillation and you get different product out of crude oil at different boiling point – diesel, kerosene, PMS, aviation fuel etc.

“If the Port Harcourt Refinery is now working at 70% capacity after over 25 years of lying waste and can push out at least 4 by-products from procesing crude oil, shouldn’t that be recognised as progress?

“The hullabaloo about blending is pointless. There is nothing unusual about blending in getting out petrol to the market. It is a normal process and part of global best practices by refiners to meet standard and run profitably.”