Thursday, July 31, 2025 - The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC)
Ltd has officially ruled out sale of the Port Harcourt
Refining Company (PHRC), reaffirming its commitment to
completing high-graded rehabilitation and retention of the plant.
Its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari,
announced this at a company-wide town hall meeting at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
NNPCL made this known in a press statement yesterday.
He stated that the position isn’t a shift.
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, Ojulari said.
Although progress is being made on all three, 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, where he said during an interview with Bloomberg that “all options are
on the table.”
The comment sparked speculation and headlines about the
future of the nation’s refining assets.
The declaration was received with applause from hundreds of
staff attendees, who described the position as a renewed sense of
business-focused direction across the organisation.
The town hall served as more than a performance update—it
was an opportunity for candid and constructive engagement.
The Executive Vice Presidents presented progress
reports from the Upstream, Downstream, Finance, Business Services, Gas, Power,
and New Energy businesses, highlighting operational achievements, ongoing
reforms, and areas requiring attention.
In a tone marked by honesty and leadership, challenges and
earlier missteps were acknowledged, and a clear roadmap was outlined for the
journey ahead.
The announcement reinforces NNPC’s mandate as a strategic custodian of national energy infrastructure and reflects a firm resolve to deliver on the complete rehabilitation and long-term viability of Nigeria’s refineries. It also signals continuity in the Federal Government’s broader energy security objectives and a commitment to retaining critical assets under national control.
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