The Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, NSChE, has insisted that the Port Harcourt Refinery is still operational and has continued to refine petroleum products.

This is coming amid reports that the refinery has halted operations just days after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd revealed that it had fulfilled its pledge of re-streaming the facility.

The development was discovered by a reporter who visited the refinery where it was observed that the facility was inactive, with no discernible signs of operation.

But in an interview on Arise TV Sunday morning, Mr Tony Ogbuigwe, the National President of NSChE made fresh claims that the refinery is fully operational.

He said, “I’m here as a professional and as the president of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers. The truth of the matter is that Area 5 of the Port Harcourt refinery is running and it is indeed running. Port Harcourt refinery has two parts.

“There is the old refinery and the new refinery. The old refinery is the one that has been brought back into operation. It is running.

“We can confirm that it is running. We have made contact with our colleagues, professional chemical engineers who are on the ground and they have confirmed that the refinery is indeed running.

“Products are being produced from the old refinery and those products are being blended to give PMS that we consume in our cars and diesel oil which we consume in trucks. Those products are indeed being produced. Kerosene is also being produced and that is the truth.”

He said that just as the Dangote refinery went through stages upon its takeoff, the Port Harcourt refinery is going through similar stages.

According to him, “It’s exactly the same thing that is happening in the Port Harcourt refinery. Crude oil comes into a refinery and goes into what is called a crude distillation unit.

“There, there is the distillation column and products come out from the column at various levels. From the top is gas which will eventually give you cooking gas.

“And then the next level is light naphtha or straight run gasoline as some will call it and then the next level is heavy naphtha, and then kerosene and then diesel and then fuel oil which is from the bottom of the column.

“These are the straight products that come from the column but they go for further processing in different parts of the refinery.

“What has happened is that Area 5 was commissioned and the main column, the crude distillation unit, has been commissioned. It is running as I said and it is producing those products.

“However, the heavy naphtha which should go into the catalytic reforming unit, that unit, (the CR unit) is the next unit which should be brought on stream. That is not yet on stream.”

He affirmed that Area 5, also called the old refinery, “is currently producing different products, listing those products to include light naphtha, heavy naphtha, Kerosene, light gas oil, and fuel oil.”

Dismissing reports that PMS is mixed with naphtha and supplied to Nigerians, the petrol-chemical expert said what is being brought in was Crack C-5, a by-product from the Eleme petrol chemical processes.

He said, “That is a high octane stock that is blended with the light naphtha to give you the 1991 run for PMS”, adding that “the refinery is operating between 60-70 percent right now, stating that they are ramping up towards 90 percent.”

“Hopefully, when they ramp up to 90 percent, then, of course, there will be more products coming out,” he said.

It could be recalled that cheerful news had emerged last Tuesday that the refinery had resumed oil production and that tankers had commenced lifting refined products.

President Tinubu while commending the NNPCL, had charged them to also work towards the revival of Warri and Kaduna refineries.

Meanwhile, the NNPCL has yet to officially react to the latest controversy.

Port Harcourt refinery still operating – Engineers make fresh claims