The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, announced that work is currently ongoing at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), which has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.
The PHRC comprises two facilities: one with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and another with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.
Onanuga also said that the 60,000 barrels per day refinery is operating at 70 per cent of its capacity and plans to increase production soon. He clarified that the refinery regularly receives crude oil, refuting claims that it is short of the required product.
He made these comments following a Wednesday visit by a fact-finding team to the 60,000 barrels per day refinery.
The next day, in a post on X, titled “Setting the Record Straight on Port Harcourt Refinery Complex: Our Fact-Finding Mission,” the presidential aide noted that the team’s inquiry had disproved the misinformation and doubts surrounding the refinery.
He said that the team was satisfied with the state of the refinery.
“I participated in a fact-finding mission that visited the 60,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt Refining Complex on Wednesday, and I will now present our results.
“Our team, accompanied by the refinery’s Managing Director Ibrahim Onoja, inspected the entire facility, from the computerised control room to the loading bay and every section in between. We asked specific questions and received satisfactory answers, which eased our doubts and misconceptions.
“Nigerians should ignore critics and misleading information regarding the refinery’s operations. While it is not currently running at full capacity, it is working at 70 per cent of its capacity, with plans to increase production soon.
“Moreover, the refinery consistently receives crude oil supplies, which contradicts assertions that it lacks crude to process.”
He commended NNPCL for revitalising “this inactive asset,” which was “on the verge of becoming a museum piece.”
