The Port Harcourt Refinery, which recently resumed operations, has once again come to a halt. This latest pause, just days after the excitement of its reopening, has left many Nigerians questioning the refinery’s future. On Friday, a visit to the refinery showed that there was no activity on-site, with workers explaining that the refinery was undergoing calibration, which might last until next week.

Earlier this week, the refinery was buzzing with activity as it resumed operations. The Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Melee Kyari, officially inaugurated the new plant, and reports claimed that 200 petrol trucks were being loaded daily. However, doubts quickly arose when it was revealed that the trucks were likely filled with old stock, not fresh petrol.

He said, “Before the refinery was shut down between 2015/2016, we had dead stock left in the tank, including some Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) DPK  (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel).

“So, these products were in large quantities in stores in those tanks. During the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Old Area 5, those products were evacuated from the tanks for storage.”

By Friday, the scene at the refinery had changed drastically. The loading bay, where trucks are usually filled with fuel, was completely empty. Most of the workers and drivers appeared idle, and there were no active operations taking place. Some workers explained that this was due to the ongoing calibration process, which is required to adjust the refinery’s systems and equipment before they can resume normal operations.

An anonymous source from the refinery mentioned that the petrol in the storage tanks was of poor quality and required further processing to be usable. The refinery’s workers said the calibration would continue until next week, with hopes that loading of other products like kerosene and diesel would resume soon after.

“But for DPK, it is in large quantity but they have not pushed it from the tank where it was kept after refined ready for commercial purposes.

“So, the product that was loaded was dead stock, that is the old product that was in the system. So, after these dead stocks, they will have to clean the tank, remove all the debris before pumping the new project into that tank, and redye it,” the source said.

The worker highlighted that refineries worldwide should operate electronically, not manually.

“But what they are trying to do at the Port Harcourt Refinery is manual, which cannot match the new digital pumps. Most of the pumps used for the event were refurbished,” he added.

The recent pause in operations at the Port Harcourt Refinery is another setback for the facility, which has faced numerous delays in the past.

When asked about the lack of loading activity, a worker in overalls said, “They are de-watering, removing the water under the PMS. Maybe there will be loading after that, but we don’t know what time today.”

Speaking to Saturday Punch, a resident of Alode in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, who simply identified himself as Osaro, said, “After that ceremony with Mele Kyari where they said the refinery had started operation and loading was taking place, what happened afterwards? They continued loading on air, that is on the pages of newspapers and social media.”

Despite these challenges, the NNPC spokesperson denied claims that the refinery was not producing fuel, insisting that the issues were part of the normal process. Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Petroleum also visited the refinery, but no updates from their visit have been made public yet.

Obelle, the PETROAN spokesman, said, “They are calibrating the loading pumps. They will be done today.”

For now, the future of the Port Harcourt Refinery remains uncertain, and many Nigerians continue to hope that the refinery will finally be able to meet the country’s fuel needs in the near future.

He said, “The old and new Port Harcourt refineries have since been integrated with one single terminal for product load-out. They share common utilities like power and storage tanks. This means that storage tanks and loading gantry which he claimed belongs to the new Port-Harcourt Refinery can also receive products from the Old Port Harcourt Refinery.”

He called on the public to disregard claims borne out of “sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance.”