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Port Harcourt refinery still evacuates diesel while operations remain suspended
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NMDPRA confirms 349,000 litres of AGO supplied daily from old stock
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Shutdown now over seven months, raising concerns over refinery management
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that the Port Harcourt Refining Company continues to supply diesel to the Nigerian market despite being shut down.
According to fresh data published by the regulator, the refinery is evacuating an average of 349,000 litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) daily, even though it has remained inactive since May 24, 2025, when operations were halted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
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The authority clarified that no refining activities are currently taking place at the facility. However, diesel produced before the shutdown is still being released into the market.
“The Port Harcourt refinery remains in shutdown mode with no production activities. Nonetheless, evacuation of AGO produced prior to May 24, 2025, has continued at an average of 0.349 million litres per day,” the NMDPRA stated.
The refinery shutdown, initially announced as a one-month maintenance exercise, has now stretched into its seventh month, with no confirmed date for resumption.
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The Port Harcourt plant was officially declared operational in November 2024 after years of inactivity. At the time, the then NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, announced that the rehabilitated refinery was running at about 70 per cent capacity, with diesel and low-pour fuel oil listed as its main outputs.
Despite these assurances, production stalled again just six months later, mirroring the experience of the Warri Refinery, which was also shut shortly after being declared operational.
The current NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, later disclosed that the Port Harcourt refinery was being run at a significant financial loss, estimating monthly losses of between $300 million and $500 million before rehabilitation works were suspended.
He noted that crude processing efficiency was below 40 per cent, making continued operations unsustainable.
Amid ongoing concerns, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has renewed calls for the privatisation of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, arguing that private-sector involvement would improve efficiency, reduce government losses, and attract technical expertise.
