Marketers Blame NNPC For Delay As Port Harcourt Refinery Shutdown Drags

Petroleum product marketers have blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) for the continuous shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), which has remained shut for 79 days following scheduled maintenance that began on May 24, 2025.

Initially slated for a 30-day repair period, the refinery’s prolonged closure has sparked significant economic hardship among petroleum marketers and bulk retailers who depend on its operations.

The NNPC Initiated the shutdown for planned maintenance and a sustainability assessment aimed at improving the refinery’s long-term efficiency and performance.

However, marketers have blamed delays in restarting the refinery and alleged non-mobilisation of contractors for the extended downtime, which now exceeds two and a half months.

Speaking under the auspices of the Petroleum Retail Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), the marketers decried the slow pace of rehabilitation work at the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after a visit to the refinery, the PETROAN Eastern zonal chairman, Chief Sunny Nkpe, expressed concern that the current group chief executive officer of NNPCL, Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, had not yet visited the Port Harcourt Refinery physically within four months in office.

Nkpe stated that Ojulari’s action had indicated a lack of passion for the Port Harcourt Refinery’s functionality.

He said he would travel to Abuja to notify other stakeholders and mobilise them on the next line of action as agreed in the stakeholders’ forum.

The PETROAN zonal chairman said, “I am travelling to Abuja to notify other stakeholders and mobilise them on the next line of action as agreed in the stakeholders’ forum. The contractors lamented that they have been owed for over 12 months without funding.”

Nkpe emphasised that the commencement of production at the Port Harcourt refinery would stabilise the price of petroleum products and reduce the dominance of private refineries.

He said,  “The Port Harcourt refinery is key to the supply chain distribution of petroleum products all over Nigeria, supplying to major cities like Aba, Enugu, Makurdi, and other key states.

The zonal chairman, therefore, called on the GCEO of NNPC to give the Port Harcourt refinery top priority attention.

He  also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct immediate action to revive the Port Harcourt Refinery as such unnecessary delays appear come from vested interests intending to sabotage  President Tinubu’s vision.