Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
At last, the Port Harcourt refinery has commenced fuel production after several months of back and forth.
This was confirmed Tuesday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
NNPC Spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement, said the loading of trucks would start around 1:45 pm.
“Port Harcourt Refinery begins production. Truck loading starts today, Tuesday,” he said.
He described the development as a major milestone by the NNPCL in Nigeria’s march towards energy independence.
In another update on X, the NNPC said: “NNPC Ltd Delivers Port Harcourt Refinery as plant begins truckout of products today, Tuesday 26th November 2024 at 1.45 pm.
“Watch the commissioning and trucking out event LIVE.”
According to the statement, the refinery will start with 60,000 barrels capacity per day, releasing Premium Motor Spirit, diesel, and others into the Nigerian market.
With the latest development, the Port Harcourt Refinery will now be the second petrol-producing refinery after the Dangote Refinery which began production around September.
Petrol price is expected to come down from N970 per litre currently sold by Dangote to marketers who now resell at N1,150 at petrol stations, although some petrol stations sell above N1200 per litre.
