According to Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the blending procedure allegedly connected to the Old Port Harcourt Refinery must be carried out in order to bring petroleum products up to national standards.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, revealed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Additionally, NNPC Ltd. denied rumors that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery was shut down and that loading activities were underway.
Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group CEO, confirmed and clarified this during Wednesday’s commissioning of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Towers in Lagos.
Blending is not a criminal offense.
Kyari asserts that since blending is a necessary component of the refining process, it is not illegal.
He emphasized that in order to comply with national regulations and guarantee that the product is safe for automobiles, blending is required.
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“You will get off-spec products if you don’t blend, which will harm your cars.” In Nigeria and other places, what is on specification in the United States of America might not be, thus every refinery blends. For items to meet the requirements of many nations or areas, blending is required,” he continued.
Human rights advocate and attorney Mr. Femi Falana, “and all those in doubt,” were invited by Kyari to join NNPC Ltd. on a tour of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna in order to confirm their status.
He said that the President’s executive orders addressing the oil and gas sector are having a beneficial impact, attracting more foreign investment and creating jobs in the sector.
Along with congratulating NUPENG on the successful completion of their Towers, Kyari said the union should keep discussing and working together with the Federal Government and NNPC Ltd.
What you ought to be aware of
Blending is a common procedure worldwide, according to NNPCL’s defense of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s output last Tuesday.
In response to a report that claimed the refinery bought “Cracked C5 petroleum resins” and mixed them with other products, such as naphtha, to sell to the Nigerian public as though the refinery had processed them, NNPCL issued a statement on Tuesday, signed by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer.
According to Soneye, efforts are underway to ramp up to 90% of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s installed capacity, which is now at 70%. He went on to say that it is not true what “some people have said that the refinery is not producing products.”
On November 26, 2024, the Port Harcourt refinery started loading petroleum products, and President Bola Tinubu praised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for successfully reviving it.
Tinubu also asked the company to accelerate the planned reactivation of the refineries in Warri and Kaduna, as well as the second plant in Port Harcourt.
Relevant oil and gas parties, notably Dangote Refinery, have been debating the “blending” issue extensively.
