Oil marketers are optimistic about the rollout of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products from the Port Harcourt Refinery.
According to reports, they see it as a step toward increased competition, product availability, and reduced prices.
Trucks began loading petroleum products from the refinery on Thursday, marking the commencement of crude oil processing at the rehabilitated facility.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced that the refinery has resumed operations, and products such as PMS, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and Household Kerosene (HHK) have been dispatched.
The Old Port Harcourt Refinery, established in 1965 and upgraded to a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 1972, along with the New Port Harcourt Refinery, which began operations in 1989 with a 150,000 bpd capacity, had been inactive for years.
Following a $1.5 billion rehabilitation project approved in 2021, the refinery has now resumed production of key products, including:
- PMS: 1.4 million litres
- Diesel: 1.5 million litres
- Kerosene: 900,000 litres
- Low Pour Fuel Oil: 2.1 million litres
- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): Additional volumes
The NNPCL projects that up to 200 trucks will load products daily, rejuvenating the facility’s output and aiding in energy independence.
Key industry associations, including the Major Energy Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have expressed excitement about the development.
Clem Isong, MEMAN Executive Secretary, told Daily Trust: “We are advocating for diversification of supply, multiple supply sources and we are advocating for open market competition and price competition.
“Our advocacy is product availability, product accessibility, product affordability and price competition. That is the crux of our advocacy.”
On his part, IPMAN’s National Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Olanrewaju Okanlawon, said: “They (NNPCL) have not come up with any price but that is the beauty of deregulation and that means competition is already here.
“The implication of it is that the major issue about the economy is demand and supply and when there is surplus of supply, it will reduce the price.
“When there is excess supply, it will definitely crash the price. The NNPCL is producing, Dangote is producing, the price will come down and it would be to the benefit of Nigeria.”
