NNPCL Commits To Port Harcourt Refinery Rehabilitation, Rules Out Sale.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has firmly rejected speculation about selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company, announcing a renewed commitment to its comprehensive rehabilitation and continued operation. The decision, revealed during a company-wide town hall meeting at NNPC Towers in Abuja on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, aims to bolster Nigeria’s energy security and domestic refining capacity.
Bayo Ojulari, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, addressed staff to clarify the future of the nation’s most prominent state-owned refinery, dispelling weeks of uncertainty sparked by his earlier comments at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna. At the seminar, Ojulari had suggested that “all options are on the table” for Nigeria’s refineries, prompting speculation about a potential sale. However, he now insists that the company’s stance is not a reversal but a decision grounded in rigorous technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
In an official statement, NNPCL declared, “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 statement highlighted that earlier plans to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before completing its rehabilitation were “ill-informed and sub-commercial.” Selling the facility, Ojulari noted, would result in “further value erosion” and undermine Nigeria’s strategic energy goals.
The ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, alongside efforts at Warri and Kaduna, is progressing, but NNPCL now seeks advanced technical partnerships to ensure a world-class overhaul. “Our focus is to deliver a refinery that is both technically sound and commercially viable. We are not cutting corners,” Ojulari said. This approach aligns with the Federal Government’s broader objective of reducing reliance on imported fuel and strengthening national control over critical energy infrastructure.
The announcement was met with enthusiastic support from NNPCL staff, who described the leadership’s vision as “reassuring” and “transformational.” The town hall also featured updates from executive vice presidents across the company’s upstream, downstream, gas, power, finance, and business services divisions, highlighting operational progress and ongoing reforms. Employees expressed optimism about NNPCL’s evolving role as a commercially driven, transparent, and performance-focused national energy company.
The decision to retain and rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refinery is seen as a pivotal step in Nigeria’s quest for energy independence. With the Dangote Refinery poised to dominate domestic refining, NNPCL’s commitment to revitalising state-owned facilities underscores the importance of national energy security, job creation, and economic stability. Industry experts, however, caution that the rehabilitation must be transparent, timely, and technically robust to avoid repeating past setbacks in Nigeria’s refining sector.
This bold move signals NNPCL’s determination to deliver on its mandate as the custodian of Nigeria’s energy assets, offering hope for a future where the nation’s refineries play a central role in powering its economy.
