* Port Harcourt Refinery
By Funso Alarape
Saturday November 30, 2024
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The rehabilitated Port Harcourt Refinery Company claimed to have resumed operations last Tuesday, has again stopped operation.
The refinery is reportedly undergoing calibration which might last till next week.
A visit by Punch Correspondent to the Port Harcourt Refinery Area 5 revealed that there were no signs of activity.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the loaded trucks contained “dead stock”.
He said, “Before the refinery was shut down between 2015/2016, we had dead stock left in the tank, including some Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel).
“So, these products were in large quantities in stores in those tanks. During the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Old Area 5, those products were evacuated from the tanks for storage.”
However, he noted that the large quantity of refined petrol was “off-spec,” requiring separation from water to obtain the main product in preferred colors.
“But for DPK, it is in large quantity but they have not pushed it from the tank where it was kept after refined ready for commercial purposes.
“So, the product that was loaded was dead stock, that is the old product that was in the system. So, after these dead stocks, they will have to clean the tank, remove all the debris before pumping the new project into that tank, and redye it,” the source said.
The worker highlighted that refineries worldwide should operate electronically, not manually.
“But what they are trying to do at the Port Harcourt Refinery is manual, which cannot match the new digital pumps. Most of the pumps used for the event were refurbished,” he added.
He explained that during Kyari’s visit on Tuesday, seven trucks were prepared for loading, but only five were filled with petrol.
Recall that the host Community of Port Harcourt Refinery Company in Eleme, Rivers State, had faulted claims by the management of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the newly rehabilitated refinery has started to produce 60,000 barrels per day.
The Secretary of Alesa Community Stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, who spoke on Arise TV during an interview on Thursday, also claimed that petroleum products loaded from the facility on Tuesday were not newly refined but products stored in the storage tank of the facility in the last three years.
Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port Harcourt refinery.
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