The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited says the rehabilitated old Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70 percent of its installed capacity.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) operates two refineries: the old refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) and a new refinery with an installed capacity of 150,000 bpsd.
NNPCL, in a statement on Tuesday, said it intends to increase the operation to 90 percent of the refinery’s capacity.
According to the statement, “The Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) express heartfelt appreciation to Nigerians for their support and excitement over the safe and successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery.
“This achievement marks a significant step forward after years of operational challenges and underperformance.
“We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products. For clarity, the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%.”
NNPC added that the refinery has commenced production of daily outputs of straight-run petrol (naphtha), which is blended into 1.4 million litres of petrol.
It said the refinery has also started producing 900,000 litres of kerosene per day and 1.5 million litres per day of diesel.
The NNPC said 2.1 million litres daily volume of low-pour fuel oil (LPFO) would also be produced at the refinery, adding that additional volumes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be refined at the plant.
The statement further read, “It is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications.
“Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes.”
NNPC further said it has made substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt refinery, “which will begin operations soon without prior announcements”.
“We urge Nigerians to focus on the remarkable achievements being realized under the able and progressive leadership of President Bola Tinubu and to support efforts aimed at delivering more dividends to the nation.”
The NNPCL statement further said malicious attacks on “clear progress” only undermine the “significant strides made by NNPC Ltd and the country.
“Let us move forward together in building a stronger and more self-sufficient energy sector.”
Earlier on Tuesday, NNPC said the refinery officially commenced crude oil processing — subsequently resuming the loading of petroleum products into trucks.
