Port Harcourt Refinery concedes scaling back operations for upgrade

The Port Harcourt Refining Company has clarified that its operations were not entirely suspended but reduced to allow for upgrades at the facility.

Moyi Maidunama, Executive Director of Operations at the Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company Limited, revealed this on Sunday during a guided tour of the refinery, headed by Ibrahim Onoja, Managing Director of the Company.

Addressing journalists, Maidunama acknowledged a brief disruption in operations but stated that the scale-down was essential to resolve technical issues and improve the refinery’s capacity.

He said, “So, the operations were not halted. It was obviously reduced due to some improvements that we needed to make.

“We are managing the process with the number of trucks available today, using a few loading arms for evacuation. This should be resolved soon.”

He assured everyone that product distribution was in progress, with multiple trucks currently loading refined products, and emphasised that this process would proceed without interruption.

Read also: PH refinery operations scaled down to address technical issues – Officials

Worlu Joel, the Terminal Manager of the Port Harcourt Depot, confirmed that the facility had started distributing various products, including Premium Motor Spirit, kerosene, and diesel.

However, he raised concerns about the low number of tanker drivers showing up.

He said, “We have surplus products available and operational loading arms, but we’ve had to beg tanker drivers to come and evacuate products.

“We’ve loaded more than ten trucks already and expect to dispatch at least 15 before the day ends.”

Joel stated that the depot is equipped with 11 operational loading bays, though only three are presently in use due to their exceptional efficiency. He noted that each bay is capable of loading three trucks within 15 minutes.

“If you give us 100 trucks today, we can evacuate them in less than five hours,” he said.

Onoja emphasised the significant progress at the refinery, mentioning that the facility has undergone substantial upgrades to enhance both efficiency and reliability.

“The plant is running, and we are trucking out our products

“We’ve carried out a massive revamp, replacing most of the equipment, including pumps instrumentation, and cables. What we’ve done here is a significant upgrade of the facility,” he said.