The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) has clarified that its operations were not completely halted but temporarily scaled down to address technical issues and improve efficiency at the facility. This clarification came on Sunday amid concerns raised by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) over fuel pricing from the refinery.

IPMAN had threatened to boycott purchases from the Port Harcourt refinery, alleging that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) was selling petrol at a higher rate of ₦1,030 per liter — about ₦60 above the price from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Although the NNPCL denied these claims, it has yet to disclose the official price of petrol from the rehabilitated Port Harcourt refinery.

During a guided tour of the facility, the Executive Director of Operations, Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company Limited, Moyi Maidunama, addressed the situation, explaining the operational adjustments. “The operations were not halted. It was obviously reduced due to some improvements that we needed to make,” Maidunama said. “We are managing the process with the number of trucks available today, using a few loading arms for evacuation. This should be resolved soon.”

He assured the public that product distribution was ongoing, with several trucks already loaded with refined products such as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), kerosene, and diesel.

The Terminal Manager at the Port Harcourt Depot, Worlu Joel, expressed concerns over the low turnout of tanker drivers, despite the refinery’s readiness to dispatch fuel. “We have surplus products available and operational loading arms, but we’ve had to beg tanker drivers to come and evacuate products,” Joel revealed.

He added that while 11 loading bays are fully functional, only three are currently in use due to their high efficiency. “If you give us 100 trucks today, we can evacuate them in less than five hours,” he stated, highlighting the depot’s capacity to meet market demands.

PHRC Managing Director Ibrahim Onoja emphasized the extensive upgrades the refinery has undergone, including the replacement of critical equipment such as pumps, instrumentation, and cables. “The plant is running, and we are trucking out our products.