In the industrial heart of Port Harcourt, a strange silence has fallen. The refinery, once buzzing with machines and men, is winding down, not in triumph, but in secrecy. A top-down order has barred workers from speaking, leaving only speculation and whispers to fill the information gap. What has brought Nigeria’s prized refinery to such a quiet halt?
The Port Harcourt refinery is being quietly closed, with official gag orders on staff deepening concerns about transparency and continuity in Nigeria’s energy sector.
- The old Port Harcourt refinery is undergoing a shutdown as of late May 2025.
- Management issued a memo instructing workers to stay silent to the press or visitors.
- The order reportedly came from a senior official referred to as Engr. Bayo.
- Petroleum marketers have raised concerns over the implications of the closure.
- The NNPCL had recently conducted high-profile visits to the site, adding to the confusion over its sudden halt.
For a country heavily dependent on refined petroleum imports, the quiet shutdown raises urgent questions that the silence cannot answer.
