Olayiwola Matthew
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has dismissed speculations about selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), reaffirming its commitment to the facility’s full rehabilitation and long-term retention.
Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC, made this known during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the corporation’s headquarters in Abuja.
His clarification comes amid growing concerns over the future of Nigeria’s state-owned refining assets.
Recall that on June 11, Ojulari had hinted at the possibility of selling the country’s refineries due to persistent challenges in rehabilitating the facilities. However, addressing staff during the townhall session, the NNPC chief made a clear reversal of that stance.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd has officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant,” the statement read.
Ojulari explained that the decision was not a policy shift, but a result of in-depth technical and financial reassessments of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
“The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial,” he stated.
“Although progress is being made on all three refineries, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Thus, selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion.”
Ojulari reiterated the company’s goal of transforming into a commercially driven, professionally managed national energy enterprise—anchored on transparency, performance, and its commitment to Nigerians as the primary stakeholders.
It will be recalled that NNPC shut down the Port Harcourt refinery for maintenance on May 24.
The PHRC consists of two refining units—an older plant with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) and a newer one with 150,000 bpsd—bringing the total processing capacity to 210,000 bpsd.