The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has clarified that its recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium of Chinese firms for the rehabilitation and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries is still undergoing a comprehensive evaluation process, stressing that the initiative is designed to create commercially viable and self-sustaining refining assets.
The clarification comes amid mounting calls from petroleum marketers and industry stakeholders urging the Federal Government to accelerate efforts to restore Nigeria's long-struggling state-owned refineries to stable and profitable operations.
In a post published on his official X account on Friday, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, said the company was adopting a fundamentally different approach to refinery rehabilitation, one that prioritises strategic partnerships, operational efficiency and long-term commercial success over short-term repairs.
“Fixing a refinery takes more than pipes and pumps. It takes the right partners. That’s the thinking behind the MoU recently signed for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, now moving into a rigorous evaluation phase.”
Ojulari explained that the national oil company is shifting towards a performance-based business partnership model intended to ensure the facilities remain profitable and operational long after rehabilitation is completed.
“A strategic shift towards lasting results. Introducing a performance-based business partnership model, built for profitable and self-sustaining refineries. Evaluation, not commitment. The MoU is an agreement to explore working together, not a binding contract.”
He emphasised that signing the memorandum does not amount to a final investment agreement, noting that the current stage is focused on assessing the commercial and technical feasibility of the proposed collaboration.
According to the NNPC chief, the prospective Chinese partners are financing the due diligence process themselves, ensuring that any eventual decision will be based on objective commercial realities rather than government expenditure.
“Prospective partners are covering the full cost, which keeps the process data-driven.”
Beyond restoring refining capacity, Ojulari said the discussions could pave the way for broader investments across Nigeria's downstream and gas sectors, including petrochemical production and gas-based industrial projects.
“The vision includes expanding the petrochemicals value chain and investing in gas-based industries, including new methanol plants. Real change isn’t announced once. It’s built through discipline applied consistently, at every stage, until it becomes how things are done.”
The comments follow the Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 30, 2026, between NNPC Ltd and two Chinese companies—Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.—to explore the rehabilitation and possible co-management of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries under a new commercial framework.
The proposed partnership is expected to provide technical expertise, financing support and improved operational management in a bid to reverse years of underperformance, repeated shutdowns and financial losses that have characterised Nigeria's state-owned refineries.
Nigeria's refining infrastructure has faced decades of operational challenges despite substantial government investment. The Port Harcourt Refining Company comprises two plants with a combined installed capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, while the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company has a nameplate capacity of 125,000 barrels per day. Together with the Kaduna Refinery, which has a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, the facilities have consumed billions of dollars in rehabilitation funding over the years without achieving sustained commercial production.
Although the Federal Government approved extensive rehabilitation programmes for the refineries in recent years, operational setbacks have continued to hamper progress. The Port Harcourt refinery briefly resumed operations before encountering fresh technical challenges, while repeated restart attempts at the Warri refinery have also failed to deliver consistent output.
Industry stakeholders have continued to advocate a new approach centred on experienced international technical partners. The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, recently urged the Federal Government and NNPC to conclude negotiations with the Chinese firms without delay, arguing that Nigeria can no longer afford repeated refinery rehabilitation projects that fail to produce sustainable results.
According to petroleum marketers, successful partnerships with competent operators could significantly reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported refined petroleum products, strengthen national energy security and improve foreign exchange conservation.
They also believe that revitalised government-owned refineries, operating alongside the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the country's growing network of modular refineries, could deepen domestic refining capacity, increase competition within the downstream sector and ensure a more stable supply of petroleum products.
With the evaluation process now underway, the outcome of the partnership discussions is expected to play a crucial role in determining whether Nigeria can finally transform its long-troubled refineries into commercially sustainable assets after decades of unsuccessful rehabilitation efforts.