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NNPC rules out sale of Port Harcourt refinery

Published by Akinwale Fakinlede on July 30th, 2025.

This announcement was made by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, putting an end to weeks of speculation about the fate of the country’s most prominent state-owned refinery.

A statement released by the company on Wednesday read, “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.”

Ojulari described the idea of selling the Port Harcourt refinery as “ill-advised and sub-commercial.”

His clarification comes after a wave of public concern sparked by his earlier remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he had stated that “all options are on the table” concerning the future of Nigeria’s refineries. This had led to speculation that a sale might be imminent.

Ojulari noted that the company’s current position is not a change in direction, but rather a result of detailed technical and financial reviews of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.

The statement added, “The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial.

“Although progress is being made on all three refineries, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and upgrade the Port Harcourt refinery.

“Therefore, a sale is highly unlikely as it would result in furth

er value erosion.”