The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has said work is currently ongoing at the 150,000 barrels per day plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State.
PHRC has two plants including the 60,000bpd facility, and the 150,000bpd plant.
According to Onanuga, the 60,000bpd refinery is operating at 70 per cent of installed capacity and plans to increase production shortly.
He further said the refinery receives regular crude oil contrary to claims of lacking the product.
He disclosed this after joining a fact-finding team at the 60,000 barrels per day refinery on Wednesday.
On Thursday in a post on X titled “Putting to Rest Rumours about Port Harcourt Refinery Complex: Our Fact-Finding Mission”, the presidential aide said the lies and doubts about the refinery had been dismissed by the team’s fact-finding mission.
He explained that the team was satisfied with the state of the refinery.
Onanuga said, “I was part of a fact-finding team that visited the 60,000 barrels daily Port Harcourt Refining Complex on Wednesday. I will now share our findings.
“Our team, guided by the refinery’s Managing Director Ibrahim Onoja, toured the entire complex, from the computerised control room to the loading bay and every section in between. We asked pointed questions and received satisfactory answers, dispelling our doubts and misconceptions.
“Nigerians must ignore naysayers and false information about the refinery’s operations. While it is not currently running at 100 per cent, it is functioning at 70 per cent installed capacity, with plans to increase production shortly.
“Furthermore, the refinery receives regular crude supplies, contrary to claims that it lacks crude to refine.”
He commended NNPCL for reviving “this dead asset,” on the “verge of becoming a museum piece.”
In November, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Olufemi Soneye, announced the commencement of the Port Harcourt refinery.
NNPCL spokesman said the refinery commenced operation with 60 per cent capacity with ongoing efforts to ramp up production.
Soneye said the Refinery is processing 60,000 barrels per day of crude, adding that the facility has a combined 210,000 barrels per day capacity.
During the visit, Onanuga said the team verified that the refinery processes petroleum products, including kerosene, low-pour fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel, and petrol.
“The latter is blended with other products to make the petrol we use in our cars. We even tested samples of the products,” he said.
“The refinery’s recent overhaul has transformed it into a modern facility. We saw upgraded and replaced parts, including part of the 300km new pipelines.
“Some parts the company had not changed in 27 years have been replaced with new ones, bringing the refinery up to 21st-century standard.”
The spokesperson said the revamping work has “indeed brought the refinery back to life,” adding that what was formerly a 20th-century refinery has been transformed into a state-of-the-art facility.
Onanuga said the team also visited the co-located second Port Harcourt refinery, commissioned in 1989, adding that workers were busy dismantling old, rusty parts and installing new ones.
“Although officials declined to provide a timeline for its completion, there was an air of confidence that it would soon be operational, joining its 60,000 barrels a day counterpart,” the spokesperson said.
“My curiosity has been satisfied. I commend NNPC Limited and the refinery team for reviving this dead asset, which was on the verge of becoming a museum piece.”
Onanuga said the fact-finding mission “has buried the various doubts and lies about the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex”.
