By Emeka Blast 
Port Harcourt Refinery to Be Revamped, Not Sold — NNPCL
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has categorically dismissed speculations of selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to a comprehensive, high-grade rehabilitation of the facility to restore its full operational capacity. The announcement, made by Group Chief Executive Officer Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari during a company-wide town hall meeting at NNPC Towers in Abuja on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, comes amid intense public and legislative scrutiny, including a Senate probe into an alleged ₦210 trillion financial discrepancy. The decision quashes weeks of uncertainty sparked by Ojulari’s earlier remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he suggested “all options are on the table” for Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
In a statement released Wednesday, NNPCL emphasized, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited 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.” Ojulari described selling the refinery as “ill-advised and sub-commercial,” warning that divestment would lead to “significant value erosion” for a national asset critical to Nigeria’s energy security. The Port Harcourt Refinery, with a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) across its old (60,000 bpd) and new (150,000 bpd) units, has been plagued by decades of neglect, mismanagement, and operational failures, forcing Nigeria to rely heavily on imported petroleum products despite being Africa’s largest oil producer.
Ojulari clarified that an earlier plan to resume operations before completing the refinery’s rehabilitation, announced in December 2023 after a $1.5 billion contract with Italy’s Maire Tecnimont, was “ill-informed and sub-commercial.” Technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries revealed the need for more advanced partnerships to address the complex overhaul, particularly for Port Harcourt, which last operated at minimal capacity in 2019. “While progress is being made across all three refineries, the emerging outlook calls for sophisticated technical collaborations to ensure long-term viability,” Ojulari stated, hinting at potential deals with global firms to enhance the project, though specifics remain undisclosed.
The announcement aligns with the federal government’s broader energy security objectives under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, emphasizing national control over critical infrastructure. The decision follows intense pressure from stakeholders, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which warned that selling the refinery would exacerbate unemployment and fuel importation dependency. The emergence of the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery in Lagos, now nearing full capacity, had fueled speculation that NNPCL might offload state refineries, especially after Aliko Dangote’s July 2025 claim that government-owned facilities “may never function again” due to mismanagement.
The town hall, attended by NNPCL’s Executive Vice Presidents for Upstream, Downstream, Finance, Gas, Power, and New Energy, served as a platform for transparent engagement. Staff described the direction as “reassuring” and “transformational,” with Ojulari pledging to reposition NNPCL as a “commercially driven, professionally managed national energy company” focused on transparency and performance. The move comes as the Senate Committee on Public Accounts gave Ojulari a three-week ultimatum on July 29 to explain ₦210 trillion in alleged financial discrepancies, adding pressure to demonstrate accountability.
Social media reactions on X were mixed, with @MobilePunch tweeting, “NNPCL rules out Port Harcourt Refinery sale, commits to rehab. Good move or too late?” and @NaijaGist noting, “Ojulari says no sale, but can NNPCL deliver after years of refinery failures?” The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) praised the decision, with president Festus Osifo stating, “Retaining and fixing Port Harcourt is a win for jobs and energy independence.”
