By JKNewsMedia
OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has dismissed speculation surrounding a possible sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, declaring that the facility will be retained and fully rehabilitated.
The decision follows internal technical and financial reviews currently underway across the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement on Tuesday during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
He clarified that the position does not represent a policy reversal but is based on commercial and operational insights gained from detailed ongoing evaluations.
Ojulari noted that the earlier plan to commence operations at the Port Harcourt refinery before completing full rehabilitation was commercially unviable.
He emphasised that divestment is not on the table, as it could result in further value erosion, adding that the company is instead seeking deeper technical partnerships to complete the rehabilitation and upgrade of the plant to modern standards.
The clarification follows remarks made by Ojulari during a Bloomberg interview at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where his statement that “all options are on the table” had prompted speculation about a potential sell-off of Nigeria’s national refining assets.
During the town hall, Executive Vice Presidents presented updates across business segments, including Upstream, Downstream, Gas, Power, Finance, and New Energy.
The session covered achievements, performance reforms, and key operational challenges, while also serving as a forum for candid engagement with staff.
The announcement was met with applause from attendees, who welcomed the reaffirmed commitment to national asset retention and refinery viability.
NNPC Ltd reiterated its mandate as a steward of national energy infrastructure and its strategic role in safeguarding energy security.
Ojulari closed the session by restating the company’s ongoing transformation into a performance-led, commercially driven national energy entity, committed to transparency, efficiency, and service to the Nigerian people.
