The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has officially dispelled speculations about selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its dedication to completing a high-grade rehabilitation and retaining ownership of the vital national asset.
According to the 9am News report, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Bashir Ojulari, made this clarification during a town hall meeting on Tuesday at the NNPCL Towers in Abuja. He emphasized that the decision aligns with extensive technical and financial reviews currently underway for the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
Ojulari disclosed that previous plans to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before completing its full rehabilitation were “ill-informed and sub-commercial.” He said the review has now revealed that such a move would not have yielded sustainable benefits for the company or the country.
Rather than consider a sale, NNPCL is seeking advanced technical partnerships to ensure a comprehensive and efficient rehabilitation of all three refineries, especially Port Harcourt. “Selling the plant at this stage would result in further value erosion,” he warned.
His remarks come amid public speculation triggered by his earlier comment at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he stated that “all options are on the table” when discussing the future of Nigeria’s refineries. The statement, made in an interview with Bloomberg, led to widespread interpretations suggesting the potential sale of refining assets.
However, Tuesday’s town hall addressed the issue head-on, reiterating NNPCL’s position as a strategic custodian of Nigeria’s energy infrastructure, and reflecting the Federal Government’s broader commitment to energy security and national control of key assets.
Executive Vice Presidents from various arms of the company including Upstream, Downstream, Finance, Gas, Power, Business Services, and New Energy—provided updates on reforms, milestones, and challenges. The event reportedly left the NNPCL workforce “energised, optimistic, and aligned with the leadership’s strategic vision.”
Ojulari concluded the session by reaffirming NNPCL’s ongoing transformation into a commercially driven and transparently governed energy company, with a firm commitment to serving the Nigerian people.
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