PH refinery: Marketers eye fuel price reduction, ready to load

The Premium Motor Spirit, or petrol, produced by the Port Harcourt Refining Company is expected to have a slight price drop at the pump once the plant starts up next month, according to projections made by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria.

As they asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to keep its word and begin pumping refined products from the plant in two weeks, IPMAN and MEMAN also stated that they were prepared to load products from the facility.

The Port Harcourt refinery will start operating in around two weeks, according to a Friday announcement made by Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPCL.

When Kyari testified before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee looking into the different refinery Turn Around Maintenance projects, she disclosed that mechanical works had been completed on the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, stressing that the Kaduna refinery would commence operations in December.
"As we stated in December, we completed the refinery's mechanical aspects at Port Harcourt. At the refinery, we currently have crude oil stockpiled. The Port Harcourt refinery will start operating in the next two weeks, I promise. We are now conducting the regulatory compliance tests that all refineries must undergo before they are allowed to begin operations.

"The rehabilitation process is finished after the mechanical work is finished; the next step is to test the system to make sure it functions properly. The mechanical work on the Warri refinery has, of course, already been finished.

The system is currently undergoing regulatory compliance procedures, which we are handling in collaboration with our regulator. These will be finished shortly, and the system will be prepared. Refinery Kaduna will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December,” Kyari had explained.
In response, IPMAN National President Abubakar Maigandi told our correspondent on Monday that marketers had been notified of the situation and were prepared to begin lifting merchandise.

He said that there would be a slight drop in the price of petrol once goods began to leave the plant, but it would only be a slight reduction.

As independent petroleum marketers, we acted quickly upon learning about the situation and advised all of our members—particularly those in the country's South-South region, where the loading is closer—to begin getting ready.
Therefore, we are prepared to come and begin loading whenever they (NNPCL) say to. The president of IPMAN said, "We are just waiting for them to start."

Therefore, we are prepared to come and begin loading whenever they (NNPCL) say. All we need to do is wait for them to begin," said IPMAN President.

"Price reduction is obvious when they start releasing products, and availability will be there because it would support the imports," he continued. Therefore, even if the reduction is slight, it is still a reduction, so we are anticipating a price shift.

Additionally, more jobs for Nigerians would be created once activities get underway. Thus, this is a positive development that IPMAN is pleased about, particularly if the facility begins producing goods in the next two weeks as NNPCL has promised.

MEMAN Executive Secretary Clement Isong said that the trade division of NNPCL was the source of products that large oil marketers were purchasing. He also mentioned that this division of the national oil company would be in control of the products that would leave the Port Harcourt refinery.

He mentioned that even if the plant wouldn't be able to supply all of the petrol that customers needed, MEMAN would undoubtedly load from the plant by purchasing refined goods via NNPCL's trading division.

Indeed, we have begun purchasing goods from NNPCL's trading division, and we plan to do so as soon as the refinery's output is made available. Because the product is made in Nigeria, there won't be much of a price drop, he said.
The Port Harcourt refinery has approximately 450, 000 barrels of oil stored, meaning it is prepared to supply refined crude to the market, as Kyari had informed the Senate.

"The Port Harcourt refinery has received over 450,000 barrels of crude oil from all operational crude lines.

"We are certain of its integrity. Indeed, there might be security concerns, but the government is also handling the matter," the head of NNPCL had said.

In December 2023, the Federal Government said that the Port Harcourt refinery's mechanical completion was complete and that its goods will be available for purchase by the end of the previous year.

Nevertheless, this did not occur, as Nigerians eagerly await the country's refineries to produce refined petroleum products. At the moment, Nigeria uses the NNPCL to import its refined petroleum products.