The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) are locked in a dispute over the slow pace of product loading at the refinery.
PHRC has accused tanker drivers of causing delays in the evacuation of petroleum products, a claim strongly refuted by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the PTD’s umbrella body. NUPENG described the allegations as misleading, insisting that PHRC is not being transparent about the situation.
Meanwhile, key stakeholders, including the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have expressed readiness to lift products and are actively working towards this goal.
During a visit to the refinery’s Area 5 loading bay, Vanguard observed ongoing petroleum refining activities. According to a source at the facility, daily production remains consistent, as earlier confirmed by the company on Tuesday.
At the loading bay, three trucks were actively being loaded, with seven others on standby. However, out of the facility’s 18 loading points, only three were operational, and only tankers bearing NNPC insignia were being loaded.
**Facility Capable of Loading 100 Trucks Per Hour**
Terminal Manager of PHRC, Worlu Joel, clarified that the refinery’s Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) arm has remained functional, with loading activities uninterrupted since Tuesday.
“The facility can load 100 trucks per hour. Of the 18 loading points, 11 are functional, but we are currently using three due to their efficiency,” Joel explained.
He further noted that each of the three points can load three trucks within 15 minutes, with each truck carrying between 45,000 and 60,000 liters of product. Joel confirmed that over 10 trucks had already been loaded and anticipated evacuating an additional 15 trucks before the end of the day.
**Call for Tanker Drivers to Turn Up**
Joel emphasized that the refinery has surplus products and operational loading arms but has been facing challenges with tanker drivers failing to show up on time.
“We’ve been appealing to tanker drivers to come and load since yesterday. If we had 100 trucks yesterday, we could have evacuated them in less than five hours. However, due to the weekend, their response has been slow,” he said.
Joel assured that the refinery remains committed to delivering products efficiently, urging tanker drivers to take advantage of the available resources to evacuate products promptly.
