The announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), also known as Port Harcourt Refinery, has sparked fierce reactions from industry stakeholders and analysts. They have reiterated their calls for a complete privatisation of government-owned refineries to ensure efficiency and optimisation in their operations. On Friday, NNPCL announced that the refinery would shut down starting Saturday for scheduled
This follows six months after the refinery began truck loading of petroleum products, following a rehabilitation program that cost $1.5 billion.
In a statement confirming the shutdown, Chief Corporate Communications Officer Femi Soneye noted that it was part of a scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment to ensure the facility operates optimally.



