The Port Harcourt Refining Company has continued supplying diesel to the Nigerian market despite being officially shut down for maintenance, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed.
Latest data released by the regulator shows that the refinery has been releasing an average of 349,000 litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) daily, even though refining operations were suspended on May 24, 2025 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The NMDPRA explained that the diesel currently being supplied was produced before the shutdown and is being evacuated from existing stock. It stressed that no new production is taking place at the facility, which remains in shutdown mode.
The Port Harcourt refinery was initially shut down for what NNPCL described as a one-month maintenance exercise. However, more than seven months later, the plant has yet to resume operations.
The refinery was declared operational in November 2024 after years of inactivity. At the time, the then Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, announced that the rehabilitated plant was operating at about 70 per cent of its installed capacity. Diesel and low-pour fuel oil were expected to be the major products, alongside petrol, kerosene and naphtha.
Despite the relaunch, the refinery was shut down again about six months later. A similar situation occurred at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, which resumed operations in December but was closed barely a month after.
The current NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, later disclosed that a review of the Port Harcourt refinery showed it was operating at a loss. According to him, the facility was losing between $300 million and $500 million monthly, with less than 40 per cent of crude supplied being effectively processed.
Ojulari said operations were halted to prevent further losses and allow for a detailed technical and commercial review aimed at making the refinery sustainable and profitable.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has called on the Federal Government to privatise Nigeria’s state-owned refineries by the first quarter of 2026, arguing that private sector involvement would improve efficiency and reduce the financial burden on the government.
However, the NNPC management has maintained that the refineries will not be sold, insisting that ongoing reviews are part of efforts to reposition them as viable, revenue-generating assets capable of meeting Nigeria’s fuel needs.
