Unseen Forces behind Kerosene Scarcity, Says PHRC Boss

Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC), Dr. Bafred Enjugu, has expressed his consternation about the continued scarcity of kerosene in the country as the company was producing enough product to satisfy demand.

He said unseen forces were behind the kerosene scarcity in the country.
Enjugu, who made the declaration yesterday while speaking at a media roundtable organised by the company in Port Harcourt, also declared that the forces behind scarcity of kerosene were beyond Nigerian refineries.

He stated that last year, about 1,200 truck loaded with kerosene were leaving the PHRC on daily basis, yet there were scarcity of the product, pointing out that the number has reduced to 800 per day due to challenges of production.

The PHRC boss said the refinery is operating at 60 per cent capacity saying that the plants at the refinery are fully on stream and is presently producing  kerosene, petrol and diesel.
He expressed optimism that it would soon operate at an optimum capacity.

He said in December last year the firm generated about N2.95 billion from production, adding that they were already working to  hit N1.3 trillion annually.

He  said security and equipment were part of major impediments to production in the refining company, stressing that efforts were ongoing to overcome them.
He explained that militants occasionally attacked oil facilities in oil fields,  thus affecting flow of crude from the facilities.

Enjugu stated that the old refinery has the capacity to process 60,000 barrels of crude per day while the new refinery processes about 150,000 barrels  of crude per day.
He said there was no importation of petroleum products into the country throughout the Christmas and New Year festive period as the refineries were functioning very well.

 The PHRC boss said, “There was no importation of petroleum products throughout the Christmas and New Year festivals. We refined all the petroleum products used in the country during that period. The two refineries are fully working.

 “Port Harcourt Refinery is both the oldest and most modern in Nigeria. Our overall mission is to provide the energy solution to this country. That is what we are trying to do.”