PETROAN Pushes Sale of Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna Refineries, Slams Costly Turnaround Failures

|By Babatunji Wusu

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has renewed calls on the Federal Government to sell the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), arguing that privatization offers the only viable path to productivity.

PETROAN National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, made the appeal in a statement, faulting years of heavy public spending on refinery rehabilitation that has delivered little or no output.

He said the continued reliance on government funding to revive the facilities has become fiscally unsustainable, noting that billions of naira committed to turnaround maintenance have failed to translate into commercial performance.

Gillis-Harry stressed that private sector ownership would unlock efficiency, restore operations and reduce pressure on public finances, insisting that the refineries would perform better under profit-driven management than prolonged state control.

The association urged the Federal Government to pursue a transparent privatization process, warning that further delays would deepen losses and stall progress in the downstream petroleum sector.

The call comes amid renewed debate on the future of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, with NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, recently confirming that privatization remains an option following a review of the facilities.