The Head of NNPC condemned the decision to operate Port Harcurt Refinery Midstream

Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Group Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bashir Ojulari, has described the decision to operate the Harcurt Refining Company Port before completing rehabilitation as bad information and sub-commercial information

He also put aside refinery sales.

Riples Nigeria reported that NNPCL on May 24 announced that the refinery would undergo a planned maintenance shutdown.

The 210 barrel refinery per day has not been operating optimally for more than two decades.

It was closed in March 2019 for the first phase of repair work after the government secured the Italian Maire Tecnimont service to handle the refinery complex review, with the main oil designated as technical advisors.

In 2021, NNPCL said the improvement had begun at the refinery after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $ 1.5 billion for the project.

On December 21, 2023, the Nigerian government announced a mechanical settlement and a refinery start-off.

However, at a city hall meeting in all companies on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at NNPC Towers, Abuja, Ojulari stated that there were sustainable detailed technical and financial reviews from the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.

He practically stated that there were no plans to sell refineries that recorded that this position was not a change. Conversely, this was informed by the ongoing technical and financial review of Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri Refineries.

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“The ongoing review shows that the previous decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before the full settlement of rehabilitation is bad and sub-commercial information.

“Although progress is being made in the three, the prospects that appear call for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high levels of rehabilitation of the Harcourt refinery. Thus, sales are very unlikely because it will cause further value erosion,” Ojulari said.

The announcement emerged after a broad speculation following his remarks at the OPEC 2025 seminar in Vienna, Austria earlier this month, where Ojulari said during the interview with Bloomberg that “All options were on the table.”

These comments triggered speculation and headlines about the future of state purification assets.

The declaration that the refinery will not be sold triggers applause from hundreds of participating staff, which describes the position as a new sense that focuses on business throughout the organization.

This announcement also strengthens the NNPC mandate as a strategic guard of national energy infrastructure and reflects a strong determination to meet the complete rehabilitation and long -term feasibility of the Nigerian refinery. This also indicates continuity in the wider federal government energy security goals and commitment to maintain important assets under national control.

“NNPC LTD will continue to position itself as a national energy company that is moved commercially and managed professionally, which is based on transparency, focusing on performance, and is not delegated in its responsibility to the number one stakeholder group, Nigeria, Ojulari concluded.

By: Babajide Okeowo