The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has refuted recent media reports claiming that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery, re-streamed two months ago, has been shut down.
Olufemi O. Soneye, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, addressed the issue in a statement on Saturday, describing the reports as “totally false.”
“The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.
“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”
The clarification comes in response to widespread speculation that the refinery, a critical component of Nigeria’s energy infrastructure, had ceased operations. NNPC emphasised that these claims were baseless and aimed at creating panic within the petroleum sector.
“Members of the public are advised to discountenance such reports as they are the figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip off Nigerians,” Soneye added.
The Old Port Harcourt Refinery, located in Rivers State, was re-streamed as part of NNPC’s efforts to revamp the country’s refining capacity and reduce dependency on imported petroleum products.
Earlier, some media outlets reported that the Port Harcourt Refining Company which appeared to have resumed production, had stopped working.
It was reported that the lifting of petrol actually stopped on Friday, December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty.
Chioma Kalu
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