NNPCL Shut Down PH Refinery Based On Incompetence, PETROAN Alleges
BY PATRICK WEMAMBU (With Agency Report)
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has alleged that the real reason the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) shut down Port Harcourt Refinery after spending $1.5 billion on its rehabilitation is incompetence.
The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, disclosed this in a telephone interview with DAILY POST on Saturday.
Contending that the shutdown showed the level of insincerity on the part of NNPCL, Gillis-Harry declared; “The shutdown of the state-owned refinery showed that the managers of Port Harcourt Refinery are incompetent and insincere all along.”
The shutdown of Port Harcourt Refinery comes amid speculation over its petroleum production capacity after it was resuscitated in November 2024.
READ ALSO: Zacch Adedeji’s Bold Reforms Usher New Era at FIRS
Barely four days ago, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association raised an alarm over the delays in the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery and the Warri and Kaduna Refineries.
The Sunday Times reports that Gillis-Harry’s comment comes as NNPCL on Saturday announced the shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
The spokesperson of the state-owned oil firm, Olufemi Soneye, had disclosed this in a statement.
According to him, the shutdown is due to planned maintenance and sustainability assessment scheduled for May 24th, 2025.
However, Soneye did not state when the Refinery would resume operation.
His words; “This scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment will commence on May 24, 2025.”
