The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has suspended the planned sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery and exported a total of 399,428.9 metric tonnes of refined petroleum products from its facilities in Port Harcourt and Warri.
Internal documents reveal that between December 2024 and July 2025, 13 separate consignments of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) totaling 271,868.2mt were shipped from the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC). Additionally, 107,296.2mt of Naphtha were exported via five shipments; four completed between March and June, while one 30,000mt cargo remains pending.
The Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) contributed 20,864.4mt of LPFO, exported across three consignments in February 2025.
The decision to halt the sale of the Port Harcourt refinery, according to NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, followed a comprehensive technical and financial review. Speaking after a town hall meeting, Ojulari noted that the previous push to restart operations before completing rehabilitation was “ill-informed and sub-commercial.”
He emphasized that ongoing upgrades across the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries require advanced technical partnerships, not asset sales, stating that divestment could lead to value erosion.
Ojulari’s clarification came in response to speculation following his remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he suggested “all options are on the table” in an interview with Bloomberg. His statement had fueled concerns over potential privatization of national energy infrastructure.
Reaffirming NNPCL’s strategic role, Ojulari said the corporation remains committed to transparency, commercial viability, and performance, as it works toward completing refinery rehabilitation projects across the country.
