NNPC rules out sale of Port Harcourt Refinery

|By Adejumo Adekunle

Says early operation plan ‘ill-informed’, targets high-grade rehabilitation

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has officially declared that it will not sell the Port Harcourt Refining Company, ending weeks of speculation over the fate of one of Nigeria’s most critical state-owned assets.

Instead, the national oil firm reaffirmed its commitment to completing the comprehensive rehabilitation of the facility and keeping it under government ownership.

Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, made the announcement during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. He emphasized that the company remains focused on restoring the Port Harcourt refinery to optimal performance through advanced technical partnerships and high-grade engineering processes.

A statement released by the company reads:
“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.”

The company further disclosed that recent assessments showed the initial plan to restart operations before completing the full rehabilitation was not only “ill-informed” but also “subcommercial.”

According to NNPCL, while rehabilitation is progressing across all three of its refineries, the Port Harcourt plant remains strategic to the company’s energy security goals. The new approach, therefore, calls for more refined technical collaborations and a longer-term investment strategy.

“Selling is highly unlikely,” the statement concluded, “as it would lead to further value erosion.”

With this development, NNPCL appears set to consolidate its position as a key driver in reviving Nigeria’s downstream sector and reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.