Contrary to criticisms and claims from several publications(excluding cvnews)the Port Harcourt refinery is up and running, and is producing petroleum products. This was revealed by The National President of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Tony Ogbuigwe, in an interview with Arise TV on Sunday , December 1
He clarified that though the refinery is not yet fully on stream, it is coming up in stages.
He added that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is working to send out products, and at the same time, ramp up the production capacity of the refinery.
Ogbuigwe said: “The truth of the matter is that the Port-Harcourt refinery- the area 5 of 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 the PMS that we consume in our cars, and diesel oil which we consume in trucks, and which some of us use in our generators as well. Those products are indeed being produced. Kerosene is also being produced, and that is the truth.
“Crude oil comes into a refinery and goes into what is called the crude distillation unit. There, there is the distillation in the column and products come out from the column at various levels. From the top is gas, which eventually goes to give you your cooking gas.
“And then the next level down is light NAPHTHA or straight run gasoline as some call it. And then the next level is heavy NAPHTHA, and then kerosene, and then diesel, and 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. The heavy NAPHTHA goes to what is called a catalytic reforming unit where it is then reformed into high octane stock because the light NAPHTHA or straight run gasoline as some call it is low octane, and is not missing the spec of the 1991 which is the standard for PMS.
“So, what has happened is that the area 5 was commissioned, and the main column- the crude distillation unit has been commissioned and it is running. And as I said, it is producing those products. And however the heavy NAPHTHA, which should go into the catalytic reforming unit, that unit, the CRU is the next unit which will be brought on stream, and that is not yet on stream.
“Some people have been making statements in the media about a product called crack C-5 coming from Eleme petrochemicals and that that is what they have been loading. No, the reality, the t truth is that the Area 5, otherwise called the old Port-Harcourt refinery, is producing light NAPHTHA, or straight run gasoline, is producing heavy NAPHTHA, is producing Kero, is producing light gas oil which goes out as your diesel, and is also producing fuel oil. Now, those things are being blended, the light NAPHTHA is blended with the crack C-5 which is being obtained from Eleme Petrochemicals, and together, that is what is giving you your PMS.
“I’m surprised that people are saying that no loading has taken place. Loading has actually taken place, and trucks have been loaded, and those trucks have gone out to go and supply the public.”
Source: ARISEtv
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