The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has stated that loading activities at the former Port Harcourt Refinery are already operational.

This was made known in a statement released by Olufemi Soneye, NNPC Ltd.'s corporate communications officer, on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

Soneye stated that the confirmation was provided by Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., at the commissioning of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) towers in Lagos.

Mr Kyari invited human rights activist and lawyer Femi Falana and all those in doubt to join the NNPC Ltd on a tour of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna to verify their status.

He also shed light on the controversy around product blending, stating that blending was not a crime as it is an integral part of the refining process.

He said: “If you don’t blend, you will bring out off-spec products which will destroy your vehicles. Every refinery blends because what is on the 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.”

Kyari complimented NUPENG on the successful completion of its towers and advised the union to keep putting communication and collaboration at the forefront of its interactions with the federal government and NNPC Ltd.