The Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have confirmed the resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt Refinery, marking a key milestone in Nigeria’s bid for self-sufficiency in petroleum refining.

In a statement released on Tuesday, NNPCL expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their support, describing the successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery as a “significant milestone.”

However, speaking on the development in a chat with Daily Trust, the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, revealed that only NNPCL trucks are currently loading products from the refinery.

He said, “We are excited about the development but we have not been invited as of this time. We are currently getting products from the Dangote refinery.

“We currently have no information about pricing, but we will get a clearer indication as we monitor the prices at the NNPCL retail stations.”

Meanwhile, marketers have speculated that the resumption of operations at the refinery will bring about competition which may lead to a reduction in the price of petrol.

The National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, 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.”