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The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, has expressed deep concern over the prolonged inactivity of the old Port Harcourt Refinery and has begun consultations with stakeholders to press for its immediate revival.
In a statement seen by News Central, signed by Zonal Chairman of PETROAN, System 2E (Eastern Zone), High Chief Sunny Nkpe, following his visit to the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation site last weekend, he said he was “worried to see the slow pace of activity” at the facility, which was shut down on May 24, 2025, for a 30-day scheduled repair.
He noted that “the current Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has not yet visited the Port Harcourt Refinery physically within four months in office, indicating a lack of passion for the functionality of the Port Harcourt Refinery.”
Addressing newsmen at Port Harcourt International Airport before travelling to Abuja, Nkpe said he was heading to “notify other stakeholders and mobilise them on the next line of action as agreed in the stakeholders’ forum.”
He revealed that contractors on site “lamented that they are owed for over 12 months without funding” despite the fact that “all was set for the Old Port Harcourt Refinery to commence production” with repairs on the cracking and blending plants of Unit 12 and Unit 14 almost completed.
According to him, the lack of commitment from the new NNPC chief “signals support to give a competitive advantage to private refineries to gain a monopoly and exploit Nigerians with outrageous prices for petroleum products.”
Nkpe explained that his planned consultations would involve “all stakeholders negatively impacted by the dormant state of the refinery, including the Industrial Motor Branch (IMB) of NUPENG, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) of NUPENG, the National President of PETROAN, the National President of IPMAN, the National President of NUGASAN, Sutakep, and others.”
“Thousands of tanker drivers are out of a job, including staff of PETROAN and IPMAN,” he said, stressing that it was “imperative that we agree on legitimate options to call for the revival of the Port Harcourt Refinery.”
He further emphasised that “the commencement of production at the Port Harcourt refinery will stabilise the price of petroleum products and reduce the dominance of private refineries,” noting that the facility is “key to the supply chain distribution of petroleum products all over Nigeria, supplying major cities like Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, and other key states.”
The PETROAN zonal chairman also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “to direct immediate action to revive the Port Harcourt Refinery, as such unnecessary delays look orchestrated and appear to be coming from vested interests who intend to sabotage the vision of Mr President.”
Recalling the impact of the refinery’s brief operation, Nkpe said, “Economic activities regained boom, petty traders within the host communities celebrated, and jobs were also created. Above all, the prices of petroleum products were stable and at an average; hence, competition was at its peak.”
He disclosed that he was “super excited” when Engineer Ojulari was appointed GCEO of NNPC, describing him as “a technocrat coming from Shell Oil Plc, which has an international reputation,” but said he was “shocked by his inability to show capacity in reviving the old Port Harcourt refinery, which was supposed to be fixed within 30 days since May 24, 2025.”
On whether stakeholders would resort to shutting down the distribution network or backing calls for Ojulari’s sack, Nkpe said he would “wait for the holistic decision of stakeholders before further comments” but maintained that “stakeholders are ready to support the reform agenda of President Tinubu and will not sit to see any person or group of people frustrating the efforts of Mr President in making the refinery functional.”
This article was written by Jessica Olayiwola
