The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has shut down speculations surrounding the potential sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery, insisting that the facility will not be sold but rather undergo full and advanced rehabilitation.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, made this clarification during a company-wide town hall meeting on Tuesday at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, where he addressed staff on the company’s strategic direction.
Ojulari, while reacting to recent media reports triggered by his earlier comments at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna — where he said “all options are on the table” — explained that the interpretation of those remarks as an indication of a looming sale was misleading and unfounded.
“The decision to continue with the rehabilitation is based on ongoing technical and financial reviews. Selling the Port Harcourt Refinery is not on the table. Doing so would lead to significant value erosion,” he stated.
He also admitted that an earlier plan to restart operations before full rehabilitation was completed was “ill-informed and sub-commercial,” emphasizing that the new direction is anchored on more advanced technical partnerships for a high-grade restoration of the plant.
According to Ojulari, the renewed commitment to full rehabilitation of Nigeria’s three state-owned refineries — in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna — aligns with the Federal Government’s broader energy security agenda and NNPC’s role as custodian of national energy assets.
“The rehabilitation of the refineries is not just about restoring operations but ensuring long-term commercial viability. We are not cutting corners. We are focusing on sustainability,” he declared.
The town hall meeting also served as a platform for NNPC’s executive vice presidents to present progress reports across the company’s upstream, downstream, gas, power, and finance divisions.
Employees reportedly welcomed the GCEO’s stance with applause, describing it as a clear sign of renewed transparency and direction.
Ojulari further assured that the company is repositioning itself as a commercially-driven and professionally managed national energy firm, committed to performance and accountability.
“The journey ahead is tough but necessary. We owe it to Nigerians to get this right,” he said.
This latest development comes amid growing public scrutiny of Nigeria’s refining sector, which has suffered decades of neglect, mismanagement, and failed turn-around maintenance projects — despite billions of naira spent over the years.
NNPC’s reaffirmation to retain and rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery may serve as a critical test of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to energy sector reform and local refining capacity enhancement.
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