By Seyi Babalola
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has certified that the Port Harcourt Refinery is operational.
There were reports last week that the refinery had shut down just a few days after its much-anticipated start of production.
However, numerous oil specialists have come out to discuss the refinery’s current situation.
Similarly, in an interview with Arise TV on Monday night, Comrade Festus Osifo, President of PENGASSAN, stated that the refinery is now fully operational.
However, Osifo stated that the production procedures had certain limits.
He was also eager to point out that the blending procedure was standard worldwide, as no refinery can produce with a single Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).
He also stated that Nigerians have every cause to distrust and question the administration, given what they have endured at the hands of previous regimes.
He said, “Nigerians, we have every reason to doubt the government. We have every reason to question assertions from governments because over the years, they have actually let us down.
“Having said that, for us in PENGASSAN, it’s part of what we are going to address tomorrow in our National Executive Council meeting.”
Explaining the production processes in the refinery, he said, “Really, from our checks, the Port Harcourt refinery is actually working.
“But let me explain this. In petroleum product production, you take the crude and you pass the crude into what they call the CDU (Crude Distillation Unit).
“So, it is actually that unit that is going to bring different products. That unit today, as we speak, is working.
“When you pass the crude into CDU, it is going to give you what we call Kerosene (DPK), it is going to give you what we call ATK (Aviation fuel), and it’s going to give you DPO (Diesel).
“It’s also going to give you naphtha. That is that distillation unit. That unit is working.
“What that means is that when you pass crude into that unit, you will have these products, but the old Port Harcourt refinery was not designed to produce aviation fuel.
“So, you are going to have these three principal products: the Naphtha, the AGO, as well as the DPK. So normally, that Naphtha, you are going to pass it to this unit called the Reformat Unit.
“As we speak today, that reformat unit is not actually working. We must disclose this to Nigerians.
“What is now happening at the moment is that you are going to take that Naphtha and merge it with Crack-C5. It will now be blended with Naphtha, and some other processes take place, and now it gives us PMS.
“What Nigerians should be interested in today is that: is the Port Harcourt refinery producing AGO? The answer is yes. Is the old Port Harcourt refinery producing kerosene? The answer is yes. Is it producing PMS today? The answer is yes.
“We should reduce the concentration on what the processes are but look at the products that come out.”
He further affirmed that, “There is no refinery in the world that has a CDU that produces PMS in a single tranche. No one produces PMS, even Dangote Refinery.
“Their CDU doesn’t just produce PMS. But there is a product that comes out that is close to PMS. The requirement and the specification – what we call the Octane number in PMS – is very high.
“You have to produce it to spec or it damages vehicles. That Naphtha is further treated, and treating that Naphtha using the Crack-C4 from Indorama is what they now call blending.
“But in all honesty, the refinery is working, and these products are all there and coming out.”
