The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. on Friday cautioned the public against unverified claims by doubtful sources.
NNPC Ltd. made the call in a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye.
Soneye said that the corporation was not unaware of claims, particularly on social media platforms, by individuals with no real knowledge of the Port Harcourt Refinery’s operations.
He noted that the claims suggesting that the old Port Harcourt Refinery was operating skeletally and not processing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) reflected a limited understanding of the refinery’s operations.
Soneye said that the old and new Port Harcourt refineries had since been integrated with one single terminal for product load-out.
According to him, both share common utilities like power and storage tanks.
Soneye noted that storage tanks and loading gantry at the new Port-Harcourt Refinery could also receive products from the old Port-Harcourt Refinery.
He dismissed the claims that the old Port Harcourt Refinery had its separate loading gantry from that of the new one.
Soneye said: “So, how did the purported ‘old stock’ move from the old Port Harcourt Refinery to the loading gantry of the new Port Harcourt Refinery?
“The nameplate capacity of the refinery is 60,000 barrels of oil per day.
“It is currently producing at 90 per cent throughput which translates to Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha) blended into 14 million litres of PMS, aside from other products like diesel and kerosene.
"We call on the general public to disregard the claims which are borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance,” he said.