The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bashir Ojulari, has described the decision to operate the Port Harcourt Refining Company before the completion of its rehabilitation as ill-informed and sub-commercial.
He also ruled out the sale of the refinery.
Ripples Nigeria reports NNPCL on May 24 announced that the refinery would undergo a planned maintenance shutdown.
The 210 barrels per day refinery has not operated maximally for over two decades.
It was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the service of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed as the technical adviser.
In 2021, NNPCL said repairs had started at the refinery after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.5 billion for the project.
On 21 December 2023, the Nigerian government announced the mechanical completion and the flare start-off of the refinery.
However, at a company-wide town hall meeting on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, Ojulari stated that there is an ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.
He practically stated that there are no plans to sell the Refinery noting that this position isn’t a shift. Rather, it is informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.
“The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial.
“Although progress is being made on all three, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Thus, selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion” Ojulari said.
The announcement comes in the wake of widespread speculation following his remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Austria earlier this month, where Ojulari said during an interview with Bloomberg that “all options are on the table.”
The comment sparked speculation and headlines about the future of the nation’s refining assets.
The declaration that the Refinery wasn’t up for sale sparked wild applause from hundreds of staff attendees, who described the position as a renewed sense of business-focused direction across the organisation.
The announcement also reinforced NNPC’s mandate as a strategic custodian of national energy infrastructure and reflects a firm resolve to deliver on the complete rehabilitation and long-term viability of Nigeria’s refineries. It also signals continuity in the Federal Government’s broader energy security objectives and a commitment to retaining critical assets under national control.
“NNPC Ltd will continue to reposition itself as a commercially driven, professionally managed national energy company, grounded in transparency, focused on performance, and unwavering in its responsibility to its number one stakeholder group, Nigerians, Ojulari concluded.
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