The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had to shut down the Port Harcourt Refining Company to save its face.

IPMAN said the facility’s shutdown is insignificant to the Nigerian petrol market, stressing that the plant did not produce petrol for about three months before its eventual shutdown.

This is even as the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria argued that the facility will be of no value without the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) blending unit, adding that 30 days will not be enough to complete the repair exercise.

In an interview published by PUNCH, IPMAN’s Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, argued that the refinery had not produced any fuel in the past few months, wondering why the NNPC was just announcing a shutdown now. NNPC announced the shutdown of the plant .

In a statement, it confirmed an earlier report by our correspondent that the facility would be shut down for a month for maintenance. According to the NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, the shutdown commenced on Saturday, May 24.

“NNPC Ltd wishes to inform the general public that the Port Harcourt Refining Company will undergo a planned maintenance shutdown. This scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment will commence on May 24, 2025,” he said.

Port Harcourt refinery
Soneye added that the company was working with relevant stakeholders to ensure efficiency and transparency during the exercise.

“We are working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to ensure the maintenance and assessment activities are carried out efficiently and transparently.

“NNPC Ltd remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering sustainable energy security for Nigeria. Further updates will be provided regularly through our official channels, including our website, media platforms, and public statements,” he stated.

However, in an interview with our correspondent, Ukadike maintained that the 60,000-barrel-capacity refinery has not produced petrol in the past few months after it was declared operational in November.

According to the IPMAN leader, the new leadership of the NNPC ought to have ordered a complete overhaul of the facility, saying the announcement of a shutdown was just to save face, knowing full well that the facility has been running far below expectations.

According to Ukadike, marketers have been buying petrol from Dangote, while others resort to importation. He maintained that the shutdown of the facility for maintenance just six months after its commissioning showed that something was not well.

“For all these days, we have been buying petrol from the Dangote refinery, and some others are importing. The shutdown of the Port Harcourt is insignificant. It does not affect anybody.

“The refinery has been down for years before it was rehabilitated and reopened last year; now, they are shutting it down again. That means something is wrong. To the best of my knowledge, the refinery has not been producing anything in the past three months. This shutdown is just to save their face.