Fuel marketers and retailers in Port Harcourt will begin loading petrol directly from the Port Harcourt Refining Company this week, barring any last-minute changes. This was confirmed by Joseph Obele, the Publicity Secretary of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), in an interview.
Since the refinery resumed operations in November, it has only been supplying petrol to outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The petrol available to independent marketers is still being imported, creating concerns over pricing differences between Lagos and Port Harcourt.
Obele pointed out that while the NNPCL sells petrol in Lagos for ₦899 per litre, Port Harcourt marketers are paying ₦970 due to logistics costs. He called on the NNPCL to address this disparity by offering the same price to marketers in both cities now that the refinery is operational.
“We want the same pricing as Lagos. With the refinery in Port Harcourt now producing fuel, it’s only fair to have uniform pricing,” Obele said.
Although independent marketers in Port Harcourt have yet to start buying directly from the refinery, Obele confirmed that this would begin later in the week. Currently, only NNPCL trucks are loading fuel from the facility.
The NNPCL announced in November that the older 60,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt refinery had restarted operations, producing naphtha and petrol. Work on the new refinery, which has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, is expected to conclude soon.
PETROAN is optimistic that direct loading from the refinery will ease logistics issues and reduce costs for retailers, ultimately benefiting consumers.