Port Harcourt Refinery Operating at 70 Percent, Onanuga Reveals After Fact-Finding Visit

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has announced that the Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to boost production in the near future.

Onanuga clarified that the refinery regularly receives crude oil, countering claims that it lacks a steady supply.

He made this statement after participating in a fact-finding mission to the 60,000-barrel-per-day facility on Wednesday.

The presidential aide further pointed out that the lies and doubts surrounding the refinery have been dispelled by the team’s findings.

He explained that the team was satisfied with the refinery’s current state.

Onanuga disclosed this in a statement titled, “Putting to Rest Rumours about Port Harcourt Refinery Complex: Our Fact-Finding Mission.”

According to Onanuga: “I was part of a fact-finding team that visited the 60,000 barrels daily Port Harcourt Refining Complex on Wednesday. I will now share our findings.

“Our team, guided by the refinery’s Managing Director Ibrahim Onoja, toured the entire complex, from the computerised control room to the loading bay and every section in between. We asked pointed questions and received satisfactory answers, dispelling our doubts and misconceptions.

“Nigerians must ignore naysayers and false information about the refinery’s operations. While it is not currently running at 100%, it is functioning at 70% installed capacity, with plans to increase production shortly.

“Furthermore, the refinery receives regular crude supplies, contrary to claims that it lacks crude to refine.”

Bayo Onanuga praised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) for reviving the Port Harcourt refinery, which he described as a “dead asset” on the verge of becoming a “museum piece.”

In November, NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye announced the restart of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery, noting that it began production at 60% capacity.

Soneye confirmed that the refinery is processing 60,000 barrels of crude per day, while the facility has a total capacity of 250,000 barrels per day.