By EMMANUELLA ANOKAM

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) says the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Limited has not released any new purchase price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Dr. BillyGillis-Harry, National President, PETROAN made this known in a statement on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the refinery, operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.)on Tuesday began the first truck-out of petroleum products in view of the re-streaming of the rehabilitated facility.

The re-streaming and truck loading signaled the commencement of crude oil processing from the plant and delivery of petroleum products to the market.

The rehabilitated refinery is currently operating at 70 per cent of its installed 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90 per cent.

In view of this, Gillis-Harry said members of PETROAN only bought PMS with the old pricing template while awaiting the new prices.

“We are excited that the production and loading of refined petroleum products have commenced at the refinery and we are expecting that soon, the price of PMS will be stated by NNPC to the benefit of Nigerians,” he said.

Reacting to this, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd. said the company had not commenced bulk sales.

“We have not yet commenced bulk sales and we have not yet opened the purchase portal as we are still finalising the necessary processes.

“At present, the products we are selling at our retail outlets are what we bought from the Dangote Refinery, which includes the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) fees.

“The product from Port Harcourt Refinery is currently for our retail stores.

“Our prices are regularly reviewed and adjusted as required,” the NNPC Ltd. Spokesperson said. (NAN)