NNPC Refutes Inactivity Claims at Port Harcourt Refinery, Confirms 90% Production Capacity

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has addressed claims made by a community leader from Alesa, Rivers State, who alleged that the Port Harcourt refinery is not producing petrol.

NNPC clarified that the refinery is currently operating at 90% capacity, producing Straight-Run gasoline (naphtha), which is blended into 1.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), along with diesel and kerosene.

Olufemi Soneye, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communication Officer, released a statement on Friday criticising the community leader’s remarks as an uninformed assessment of the refinery’s operations.

Soneye noted that although the leader acknowledged fuel was being dispatched from the refinery’s gantry, they dismissed it as “old stock” from a previous operation, a claim Soneye argued undermines the credibility of the accusations.

Timothy Mgbere, reportedly a leader from the Alesa community, made the allegations on national television on Thursday, accusing NNPC of misleading Nigerians by claiming the Port Harcourt refinery is refining crude oil.

In response, Soneye reaffirmed that the refinery is running at 90% capacity and described the allegations as baseless and factually incorrect, emphasising that the refinery is actively producing and distributing fuel.

Soneye further pointed out inconsistencies in the community leader’s statements.