Energy expert, Bala Zakka, has declared as false the claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that the Port Harcourt Refinery was operational and would be loading out 60 trucks of product per day.
Fielding questions virtually early Wednesday during the VOP TV’s Business Hour, Zakka said Nigerians do not need petrochemical engineers to verify that the facility was not functional, adding that the environment and results would be very visible.
According to him, before any production, raw materials must be on ground, and anybody going into processing activities must have feedstock, neither of which was present at the refinery. He added that there was not even any pressure in the pipes, meaning there was no crude oil in them, stressing that petroleum refining can never be hidden from the engineers, the community and the different contractors.
Zakka further stated that PMS should be 10 times cheaper in Nigeria than it currently is, given that the country owns the crude and state refining facilities. He stressed that no sensible country will prefer to ship out raw materials and receive finished goods. He attributed Nigeria’s problem to docility in leadership, security, education, agriculture and social welfare.