NNPC: Port Harcourt refinery not for sale

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-graded rehabilitation and retention of the plant.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari, announced this at a company-wide town hall meeting at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

Ojulari stated that the position isn’t a shift, saying: “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.

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“Although progress is being made on all three refineries, 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.”

The announcement comes in the wake of widespread speculation following his remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Austria, earlier this month.

The NNPC Limited boss had, during an interview with Bloomberg, said that “all options are on the table.”

The comment sparked speculation and headlines about the future of the nation’s refining assets.

Ojulari, in a statement issued by the NNPC Limited on Wednesday, July 30, said the national oil company 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.”

The Star