Port Harcourt Refinery: NNPC, PETROAN speak on petrol price

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) on Wednesday said no new price for petrol has been released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) Port Harcourt Refinery.

The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, in a statement on Wednesday, said its members only bought petrol with the old pricing template awaiting new prices.

PETROAN made this known in reaction to reports that a litre of petrol at the Port Harcourt Refinery is N75 higher than that of Dangote Refinery.

Speaking during the reopening ceremony of the refinery on Tuesday, PETROAN National Public Relations Officer Joseph Obele said petrol from the refinery is priced at N1,045 per litre, N75 higher than the N970 per litre sold by Dangote Refinery.

In its statement on Wednesday, the association said it expects that the NNPC will soon announce a new petrol price.

“The National Headquarters of Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN Abuja would Like to inform the media and the general public that no new price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has been released by the NNPC port Harcourt refinery.

“Members of PETROAN only bought PMS with the old pricing template awaiting new prices. We are excited that the production and loading of refined petroleum products have commenced at the Port Harcourt Refinery and we are expecting that soon the price of PMS will be stated by NNPC to the benefit of Nigerians,” the statement said.

In its reaction on Wednesday night, Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC Ltd said the company has not commenced bulk sales of petrol and has not opened the purchase portal.

He explained that the company is finalising necessary processes, noting that it currently sells products purchased from the Dangote Refinery.

The NNPC assured that its prices are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required, adding that the products from the Port Harcourt Refinery are currently for its retail stores.

“NNPC we have not yet commenced bulk sales, and we have not yet opened the purchase portal as we are still finalising the necessary processes.

“At present, the products we are selling are what we bought from the Dangote Refinery, which includes Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) fees. The product from Port Harcourt is currently for our retail stores. Our prices are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required,” Mr Soneye said.

On Tuesday, the NNPC Ltd said the Port Harcourt refinery had commenced production after a long period of rehabilitation.

The NNPC Ltd said the refinery began truck loading of petroleum products on Tuesday, 26 November.

The Port Harcourt Refineries comprise two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.

The refinery was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.

In 2021, NNPC Ltd said repairs had started at the refinery after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.5 billion for the project.

On 21 December 2023, the Nigerian government announced the mechanical completion and the flare start-off of the refinery.