The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has officially 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 Ltd., Bashir Ojulari, announced this at a company-wide town hall meeting at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
Ojulari, in a statement by the company, explained that the position was not a shift, rather informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.
He said the ongoing review indicated that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial.
“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,” he said.
The announcement comes in the wake of widespread speculation following the GCEO’s remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Austria in July, 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.
Ojulari said it would continue to reposition itself as a commercially driven, professionally managed company, grounded in transparency, focused on performance, and unwavering in its responsibility to its number one stakeholder group, Nigerians.
According to the statement, 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.
It described the town hall as more than a performance update; an opportunity for candid and constructive engagement.
It stated that the Executive Vice Presidents of the company 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.
It said the announcement reinforced NNPC’s mandate as a strategic custodian of national energy infrastructure and reflected a firm resolve to deliver on the complete rehabilitation and long-term viability of Nigeria’s refineries.
It further said it signalled continuity in the Federal Government’s broader energy security objectives and a commitment to retaining critical assets under national control.
