PETROLEUM MARKETERS SOUND ALARM: PORT HARCOURT REFINERY REPAIRS COULD DRAG BEYOND 30-DAY TIMELINE
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has raised serious concerns about the recent shutdown of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery, warning that the ambitious 30-day maintenance schedule may prove unrealistic due to typical project bottlenecks and could trigger severe supply shortages.
PETROAN National President Billy Gillis-Harry expressed the association’s fears that delays in the refinery’s rehabilitation timeline could worsen economic hardship for millions of Nigerians while devastating the businesses of PETROAN members who have invested millions in petroleum products from the NNPC refinery depot.
The marketers’ association emphasized that while maintenance shutdowns are expected for aging infrastructure, they are demanding that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited strictly adhere to the scheduled 30-day repair timeline to minimize disruptions to the nation’s petroleum product supply chain.
PETROAN stressed that the repair process must include comprehensive work on the Premium Motor Spirit blending unit, arguing that crude oil cracking operations are essentially worthless without functional blending capabilities that produce market-ready gasoline.
The association issued urgent demands that NNPCL complete all repairs before existing petroleum stocks are depleted, warning that failure to meet this timeline could lead to market monopolization and destabilize the entire petroleum supply system across Nigeria.
Completing repairs on schedule will be crucial for maintaining healthy market competition, which directly benefits consumers through stable pricing and reliable supply availability, according to PETROAN leadership.
The association has recommended that the Minister of Petroleum establish a comprehensive task force comprising all Petroleum Industry Stakeholders Forum members to provide rigorous monitoring of the 30-day repair schedule, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process.
The proposed task force would brief the Nigerian public weekly on repair progress, while PETROAN also recommended prompt contractor payments to prevent delays and keep the critical project on track.
Source: orientalnewsng.com