STAKEHOLDERS EXPRESS DISGUST OVER PORT HARCOURT REFINERY STATE
Stakeholders in the country’s oil and gas sector have expressed displeasure over the inability of the Port Harcourt Refinery to come on stream at the end of last year.
They said the failure of the government to walk its talk on the revival of the refinery shows its lack of will-power to ensure that the asset is put back to its proper shake.
The stakeholders,who spoke with GreatTribune on Monday, bemoaned the economic losses the country is suffering on an account of the failure of the refinery to be revitalized.
”Nigerians hope was that the revitalization of the Port Harcourt Refinery will impact positively on the economy and strengthens Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.Nigerians also expected importation of fuel by the country would rest to some extent if the government walks its talk on the refinery.
“Regrettably,the hopes turned out to be wishful thinking as government has since shifted the goalpost of the revitaluzation of the Port Harcourt refinery.We can’t run the sector this way and bring back our ailing refineries on double-speak approach of decision makers in Nigeria”,Mr.Kingsley Adebayo told this online newspaper.
Experts had recently said the PortHarcourt refinery is not yet completed,adding that imported LPG was fed into the bottom of the flare to provide fuel, to light the flare instead of the normal flue gas produced from the refinery.
NNPC top management had said the refinery was mechanically ready.
He said: “This action allowed a picture of the flare to be taken; pretending that the refinery had started operations”
The picture was taken within a few minutes. The flare was shut down immediately after !
The rehabilitation work is NOT COMPLETED! They had to try to lie to the public that the Port Harcourt refinery is back in operation .
That can not happen in the foreseeable future
“The Port Harcourt refinery can not make any products in the foreseeable future because the units can not take in crude oil for processing.
“The rehabilitation work has NOT been completed. The Federal Government and NNPCL know this truth but will not admit it publicly!
“In fact, no crude oil has been supplied to the refinery to date, for the same reason !
