<\/p>\n
By Anifowoshe Oladipupo<\/p>\n
In a major policy U-turn, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Limited is considering selling its four state-owned refineries following years of costly but unproductive rehabilitation efforts.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, revealed that a comprehensive internal review is underway to determine the future of the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, with a final decision expected by late 2025.<\/p>\n
Ojulari admitted that the overhaul process has become \u201cincreasingly complex and fraught with technical setbacks,\u201d despite a $3 billion investment between 2021 and 2023.<\/p>\n
The Port Harcourt refinery, which briefly resumed crude processing in late 2023, was shut down again in May 2025 for maintenance, highlighting persistent operational challenges in Nigeria\u2019s aging refining infrastructure.<\/p>\n
This rethink follows mounting public and parliamentary scrutiny over NNPC\u2019s decades-long spending on refineries, estimated at over \u20a611.35 trillion (about $25 billion), with little to show in terms of output.<\/p>\n
The proposed sale would align with ongoing reforms in Nigeria\u2019s oil sector, which now prioritize private-sector participation and efficiency.<\/p>\n
Ojulari also addressed the broader energy landscape, noting that Nigeria\u2019s oil production costs remain high at $20\u2013$30 per barrel, largely due to security expenses.<\/p>\n
However, he celebrated a recent milestone: the country now enjoys 100% pipeline availability; a direct result of increased investment in securing oil infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Despite cost challenges, Ojulari expressed optimism that Nigeria could ramp up production to 1.9 million barrels per day by the end of 2025, a significant rise from current levels below OPEC quotas.<\/p>\n
If implemented, the refinery divestment would mark a historic shift in Nigeria\u2019s downstream oil strategy, opening the door to private ownership and raising key questions about the country\u2019s energy independence and long-term economic resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Anifowoshe Oladipupo In a major policy U-turn, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Limited is considering selling its four state-owned refineries following years of costly but unproductive rehabilitation efforts. Speaking at the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, revealed that a comprehensive internal review is underway […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":70380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70381,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70379\/revisions\/70381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}