The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has dismissed speculations surrounding the possible sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing the plant’s high-grade rehabilitation and maintaining ownership.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, made the clarification during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, putting an end to weeks of uncertainty over the future of the nation’s most prominent state-owned refinery.
A statement issued 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 any suggestion to sell the facility as “ill-advised and sub-commercial.”
His comments followed public concern triggered by remarks he made at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he had said “all options are on the table” regarding the future of Nigeria’s refineries—a statement that sparked widespread speculation about an impending sale.
Clarifying the company’s stance, Ojulari explained that the current position is not a reversal but is based on ongoing technical and financial assessments of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
“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,” the statement said.
He added that while rehabilitation works are progressing at all three facilities, the emerging findings point to the need for more advanced technical partnerships to fully complete and optimise the Port Harcourt refinery.
“Thus, selling is highly unlikely, as it would lead to further value erosion,” the company concluded.
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