Price Of Petrol May Drop As Port Harcourt Refinery Resumes

The roll-out of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from the Port Harcourt Refinery has been welcomed by marketers, who believe it will deepen competition, ensure product availability, and lead to price reductions.

Eleven months after the mechanical completion of the old Port Harcourt Refinery, the facility has begun loading petroleum products, signalling the commencement of crude oil processing and delivery into the market.

On Thursday, about 100 trucks lined up to load petrol from the refinery, according to reports.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced that it has commenced loading PMS (petrol), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO or diesel), and Household Kerosene (HHK), among other products.

Speaking during a ceremony to mark the refinery’s operational restart, NNPCL Group CEO Mele Kyari described the development as a “monumental achievement for Nigeria” and a sign of progress toward energy independence.

The Executive Secretary of the Major Energy Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clem Isong, in a chat with Daily Trust, also expressed optimism about the refinery’s operations, emphasizing that competition among suppliers will benefit consumers.

He said, “We are advocating for diversification of supply, multiple supply sources and we are advocating for open market competition and price competition.

“Our advocacy is product availability, product accessibility, product affordability and price competition. That is the crux of our advocacy.”

On its part, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said it was excited about the rollout of PMS from the Port Harcourt refinery by the NNPCL.

Members of the association said they were optimistic that the development would engender competition and ultimately lead to price reduction.

The National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Alhaji Olanrewaju Okanlawon, said while the price of PMS had not changed, the development would eventually bring about price reduction.

He said: “They (NNPCL) have not come up with any price but that is the beauty of deregulation and that means competition is already here.

“The implication of it is that the major issue about the economy is demand and supply and when there is surplus of supply, it will reduce the price. When there is excess supply, it will definitely crash the price. The NNPCL is producing, Dangote is producing, the price will come down and it would be to the benefit of Nigeria.”

The National President of the Petroleum Retails Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PPROOAN), Billy Grills Harry, said that about 100 trucks had lined up at the loading bay of the Port Harcourt refinery complex to lift various types of petroleum products.

Harry, who spoke with the platform in Port Harcourt, said all the 18 loading bays at the refinery had been reactivated while over 100 trucks had assembled to start lifting petroleum products.

He said he was invited as the National President of the PPROOAN to witness the resumption ceremony, adding that the development would end the scarcity of petroleum products.