Business
Port Harcourt refinery petrol denial sparks PETROAN credibility crisis
PETROAN denies lifting petrol from Port Harcourt refinery, contradicting earlier claims, raising concerns over refinery transparency and fuel distribution.
PETROAN denies lifting petrol from Port Harcourt refinery, contradicting earlier claims, raising concerns over refinery transparency and fuel distribution
Port Harcourt refinery petrol denial by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria has sparked fresh questions about the transparency of fuel supply operations in the country.
Also read: Warri Refinery: NNPC and the Triumph over Scepticism
Four months after assuring Nigerians that its members had begun lifting Premium Motor Spirit from the NNPC-managed refinery, PETROAN now claims it never did.
The reversal came during a live television appearance by the association’s National President, Billy Gillis-Harry. He said that while members lifted diesel and kerosene from the Port Harcourt facility, petrol was never distributed commercially to them.
“For the products that we were lifting in NNPC, especially in Port Harcourt refinery, most of them were DPK and AGO,” he stated. “PMS was lifted by NNPC to NNPC trucks and stations… but we did not buy any commercial PMS from NNPC while the process of doing distribution from that depot was going on.”
His remarks directly contradicted PETROAN’s earlier statement issued in February by the association’s spokesman, Joseph Obele. At the time, Obele said members were lifting all major products—diesel, kerosene, and petrol—from the Port Harcourt refinery, which had recently resumed operations after a $1.5 billion overhaul.
The February statement read, “PETROAN members are now loading petroleum products, including DPK, AGO, and PMS,” adding that the revitalised refineries were contributing to price reductions and helping curb the spread of adulterated fuels.
The conflicting narratives have left many Nigerians questioning whether the Port Harcourt refinery was ever fully operational.
A report by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in April noted that the refinery was running at 42 per cent capacity before it was shut down for maintenance in May.
Critics say PETROAN’s shifting position undermines public confidence, especially after months of speculation about the viability of the refineries.
Until recently, PETROAN was one of the most vocal supporters of the NNPC’s rehabilitation projects. Its apparent about-face has been linked by observers to changes in leadership at the state oil company, including the removal of Mele Kyari as Group Chief Executive Officer.
The revelation has reignited calls for the Federal Government to privatise the nation’s three refineries, located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.
Supporters of privatisation argue that government-run facilities have consistently failed to meet national demand, even after repeated investments.
While Gillis-Harry reaffirmed PETROAN’s commitment to supporting the success of NNPC’s turnaround maintenance, the association’s credibility has been brought into question.
Also read: Northern Nigeria set for Oil drilling restart as NNPC Chief promises progress
Nigerians now demand clearer communication, not just from PETROAN, but also from the government and NNPC, to ensure accountability and public trust in the petroleum sector.
TotalEnergies and Nigerian independent energy company AMNI International have taken the Final Investment Decision on the $800 million Ima Gas Project, more than five decades after the gas field was discovered.
The Ima Gas Project, located in shallow waters across Oil Mining Leases 112 and 117 near Bonny Island, Rivers State, is expected to begin production in 2028 and reach a plateau of 350 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The development is expected to play a major role in supplying feed gas to Nigeria LNG, with the Ima field projected to provide about one-third of the additional gas required for the ongoing Train 7 expansion.
Train 7 is expected to increase Nigeria LNG’s liquefaction capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum, strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to process and export liquefied natural gas.
The Ima field was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than 50 years. The Final Investment Decision provides the commercial and financial basis for finally developing the long-dormant resource.
Under the development plan, TotalEnergies will operate the project with a 40 per cent interest, while AMNI will hold the remaining 60 per cent.
The field will be developed using a single offshore platform connected to Nigeria LNG’s facility on Bonny Island through a 22-kilometre pipeline.
TotalEnergies said its investment in the project is more than $600 million, while the Federal Government described the overall Final Investment Decision as an $800 million investment.
At the FID signing ceremony in Abuja, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Managing Director, Mathieu Bouyer, described the decision as the culmination of a development process that had stretched across several decades.
He said the project reflected increased confidence in Nigeria’s investment environment and highlighted reforms targeting the non-associated gas sector as part of the factors that helped make the development commercially viable.
President Bola Tinubu welcomed the investment, saying the project demonstrated the potential of reforms introduced to reduce the cost and time required to develop oil and gas projects.
The President said the government had introduced incentives aimed specifically at unlocking onshore and shallow-water gas projects that had remained undeveloped for years.
He said the Ima development would create opportunities for Nigerian businesses, engineers, technicians and contractors, while generating jobs, economic activity in host communities and additional export earnings.
The project is also expected to have a strong Nigerian content component. TotalEnergies said all key contractors for the development would be Nigerian companies, while about 60 per cent of the workforce during the development phase is expected to come from host communities.
The development will incorporate measures aimed at reducing emissions. TotalEnergies said the platform would receive electricity from shore, operate without routine flaring and use permanent methane detection and monitoring systems.
The Federal Government said the project is part of efforts to turn Nigeria’s large natural gas reserves into productive assets capable of supporting industrialisation, energy supply, jobs and export earnings.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said the Ima development illustrated the importance of creating commercial and investment conditions that allow previously stranded resources to be developed.
The government also noted that Nigerian financial institutions arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, further highlighting the participation of domestic financial institutions in the development.
For Nigeria LNG, the project comes as the company continues work on the Train 7 expansion, which is designed to increase the Bonny Island plant’s liquefaction capacity and strengthen the country’s position in the global LNG market.
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