The Port Harcourt refinery shutdown has not stopped diesel supply, as marketers continue lifting fuel months after maintenance began
Fuel marketers have confirmed that the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, continues to supply diesel despite being shut down for maintenance.
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Joseph Obele, Publicity Secretary of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, disclosed this in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
Obele said fuel marketers still load an average of 15 trucks of diesel daily from the facility.
The Port Harcourt refinery was shut down on May 24, 2025, for maintenance by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Despite the shutdown, marketers have lifted an estimated 3,150 trucks of diesel within seven months.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority confirmed the continued evacuation.
The regulator said the refinery supplied about 349,000 litres of automotive gas oil daily as of November.
The authority clarified that the diesel was produced before the shutdown and stored for evacuation.
“There were no production activities, but evacuation of existing diesel continued,” the regulator stated.
Obele, who operates in Eleme, Rivers State, confirmed the position.
He said the refinery has a large diesel reservoir from its brief operational period.
However, Obele warned that the stock could be exhausted by February 2026.
He urged the NNPC to reopen the refinery to avoid supply disruptions.
The Port Harcourt refinery resumed operations in November 2024 after years of inactivity.
Former NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, announced that the facility was operating at 70 per cent capacity.
The refinery was expected to produce 1.5 million litres of diesel daily.
It was also projected to release about 200 petrol trucks into the market each day.
Six months later, the refinery was shut again.
The Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company faced a similar setback after reopening.
Current NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, later described the Port Harcourt plant as financially unsustainable.
Ojulari said the company lost between $300m and $500m monthly before suspending operations.
He described the losses as alarming and said efficiency levels were below 40 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria has renewed calls for refinery privatisation.
The association said privatisation would reduce fiscal pressure and improve efficiency.
Ojulari has rejected outright sale calls, insisting on repositioning the refineries for long-term profitability.
Also read: National grid collapse sparks widespread power outage in Nigeria
NNPC spokesman, Andy Odeh, did not respond to requests for comments.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
