Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and other opponents of the Port Harcourt refinery have received an invitation from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to visit the plant.
This comes as NNPCL insisted that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is up and running, with loading operations in full swing.
In a statement on Wednesday by NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, the company’s group chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, made pronouncements at the commissioning of the NUPENG Towers in Lagos on Wednesday.
Speaking on the controversy around products blending at Port Harcourt, stating that blending was not a crime as it is an integral part of the refining process.
“If you don’t blend, you will bring out off-spec products, which will destroy your vehicles. Every refinery blends because what is on specification in the United States of America will be off spec in Nigeria and elsewhere.
“Blending is necessary to bring products to the specification of different countries or regions,” he explained.
He added that the President’s interventions in the oil and gas industry by way of executive orders were yielding positive results, with more investments coming in and prospects of more jobs in the industry.
Recall that on Tuesday last week, NNPCL announced the commencement of crude processing and truckout of petroleum products at Port Harcourt.
However, the commencement of the refinery years after rehabilitation sparked several speculations on its viability and authenticity.
Written By Ogaga Ariemu