The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Wednesday insisted that the old Port Harcourt Refinery is up and running, with loading operations in full swing.
Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC Ltd, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Mr Soneye said the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, gave the confirmation at the commissioning of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) towers in Lagos on Wednesday.
Last 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 refinery’s operational status has been a subject of controversy, with some expressing scepticism about its functionality.
According to the statement, Mr Kyari, in a goodwill message at the event, extended an invitation to human rights activist and lawyer Femi Falana and all those in doubt to join the NNPC Ltd on a tour of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna to verify their status.
He also shed light on the controversy around product blending, stating that blending was not a crime as it is an integral part of the refining process.
“If you don’t blend, you will bring out off-spec products which will destroy your vehicles. Every refinery blends because what is on the specification in the United States of America will be off-spec in Nigeria and elsewhere.
“Blending is necessary to bring products to the specification of different countries or regions,” he explained,” Mr Kyari said.
Mr Kyari also congratulated NUPENG on the successful completion of its towers and urged the union to continue to prioritise dialogue and cooperation in its relationship with NNPC Ltd and the federal government.
He disclosed that the president’s interventions in the oil and gas industry by way of executive orders were yielding positive results, with more investments coming in and prospects of more jobs in the industry.