Port Harcourt Refinery Resumption Threatened As Vandals Invade Facility

The expectation of Port Harcourt Refinery resuming soon has been put under threat following recent invasion of the facility by vandals, who have continuously destroyed the newly installed equipment.

An oil and gas industry source, who raised the alarm, said there were serious attempts to sabotage the efforts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to get the refinery running soon.

The source, who pleaded not to be named, yesterday, said there have been acts of vandalism within the plant. She added that some people had gathered at the entrance of the facility to prevent the ongoing work.

New Telegraph obtained videos and pictures that showed the alleged vandals who were caught overnight cutting cables and stealing equipment from the refinery as well as people that gathered to prevent ongoing work. The source said: “We are experiencing significant sabotage in our efforts to restart the refinery.

There have been orchestrated acts of vandalism within the plant, and there is an ongoing blockade preventing work from commencing. “Hundreds of people are currently gathered at the PHRC entrance, preventing workers from doing their jobs and vowing that the refinery restart will not proceed.

“They do not want the refinery to open on the scheduled time.” Efforts to get the response of the Chief Corporate Communication Officer, NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, proved abortive as he had yet to respond to inquiries.

Recall that the Group Chief Executive Officer, (GCEO) NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, recently assured that the Port Harcourt refinery would deliver refined petroleum products in August 2024 and that Kaduna and Warri refineries would commence operations by December, 2024.

He also assured that by the end of 2024, Nigeria would be a net exporter of petroleum products. He spoke in Abuja when he appeared before the National Assembly joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Finance during an emergency session on the state of the economy.
New Telegraph