The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that the Port Harcourt Refining Company is not for sale. The national oil company said it is committed to completing high-graded rehabilitation and retention of the plant.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Limited, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, stated this at a company-wide town hall meeting last Tuesday at the NNPC Towers, Abuja. He stated that the position is not 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.
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.
