The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, stating its firm commitment to completing the full rehabilitation of the facility and retaining it as a national asset.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, made the clarification during a company-wide town hall meeting held on Tuesday at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. His statement followed speculations triggered by his earlier remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he told Bloomberg that “all options were on the table” regarding the refinery’s future.
In a follow-up statement issued on Wednesday, Ojulari explained that the current position is not a policy reversal, but a conclusion reached after technical and financial assessments of the country’s three major refineries—Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.
He disclosed that a previous decision to begin operations at the Port Harcourt refinery before the completion of its rehabilitation was found to be commercially unviable. According to him, the plant’s complexity demands more sophisticated technical partnerships to ensure full upgrade and operational efficiency.
Ojulari also warned that selling the Port Harcourt asset at this stage would likely lead to significant value erosion. As such, the NNPCL leadership has opted for a more prudent, long-term strategy that ensures national ownership and operational excellence.
The GCEO’s declaration was met with enthusiastic applause from staff members present at the town hall, who praised the renewed emphasis on strategic planning and asset preservation.
The event served not only as a performance review but also as a platform for transparent communication. Executive Vice Presidents from key business units—including Upstream, Downstream, Gas, Finance, Power, and New Energy—presented updates on achievements, challenges, and future plans.
The statement emphasized that the NNPCL remains a strategic custodian of national energy infrastructure. Ojulari’s stance aligns with the Federal Government’s energy security agenda and reinforces the company’s role in delivering sustainable refinery operations and driving Nigeria’s broader economic transformation.