Contrary to earlier indications that the four refineries owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), would be put on the shelf soon, the company, seems to be thinking twice about the move.

Bayo Ojulari, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (GMD-CEO), had in an interview with Bloomberg, recently, hinted that many options were before now being considered as the future fate of the company, including outright sell-off.

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But in definite statement, capturing the new thinking, the NNPCL boss, told reporters at its corporate headquarters in Abuja that the decision not to dispose it was because doing so would lead to further value erosion.

The decision is coming against the grain of arguments from industrial stakeholders including Aliko Dangote, owner of the $20billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals (DRP), the first privately-owned refinery in Africa, with the reputation of hosting the world’s largest single-chain refining capacity.

Dangote While hosting members of the Global CEO Africa from the Lagos Business School, after a tour of the 650,000-capacity refinery in Lekki, Lagos, spoke of how a whopping $18billion had been wasted on the attempt to revive the NNPCL refineries over the years without any positive results, adding that the situation could remain so.

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Recounting how he had to embark on building his own facility from the scratch after the government of late President Umar Yar’adua aborted his acquisition of the government refineries he stated how his own company now had over 50 per cent of its output dedicated to Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), saying that even government refineries committed just 22 per cent of their production to petrol.

Recalling how he and his team had to return the refineries to Yar’adua, a few months after former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office in 2007, because the former managers of the refinery had told the late former President that his predecessor sold the facilities below their costs as a parting gift to him, he maintained that the decision of the government to abort the deal was wrong.

“The refineries that we bought before, which were owned by Nigeria, were doing about 22 per cent of PMS. We bought the refineries in January 2007. Then we had to return them to the government because there was a change of government.

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“And the managing director at that time convinced Yar’adua that the refineries would work. They said they just gave them to us as a parting gift or so. And as of today, they have spent about $18bn on those refineries, and they are still not working. And I don’t think, and I doubt very much if they will work.

“(The turnaround maintenance) is like you trying to modernise a car that was built 40 years ago, when technology and everything have changed. Even if you change the engine, the body will not be able to take the shock of that new technology engine,” he stated.

Obasanjo had in 2024 toed the same line of argument, stating that the NNPC was aware that it could not operate the refineries, adding that international oil companies like Shell once refused to run the facilities when he requested them to do so.

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“I ran to him (Yar’Adua), I said, ‘You know this is not right’. He said, ‘Well, NNPC said they can do it.’ I said, ‘NNPC cannot do it,’ I told my successor that ‘the refineries, from what I heard and know, will not work and when you want to sell them, you will not get anybody to buy them at $200m as scrap’. And that is the situation we are in.

“So, why do we do this kind of thing to ourselves? NNPC knew that they could not do it, but they knew they could eat and carry on with the corruption that was going on in NNPC. When people were there to do it, they put pressure. In a civilised society, those people should be in jail. I was told not too long ago that since that time, more than $2billion have been squandered on the refineries and they still will not work.

“If a company like Shell tells me what they told me, I will believe them. If anybody tells you now that it (the refinery) is working, why are they now with Aliko (Dangote)? And Aliko will make his refinery work; not only make it work, he will make it deliver. The refineries’ performance is lie a farmer who planted 100 heaps of yam but falsely claimed to have planted 200. They say that after he has harvested 100 heaps of yams, he will also have 100 heaps of lies. You know what that means,” he said.

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However, the NNPCL, appears unfazed by the prevailing arguments of the stakeholders, even after spending $1.5 billion on the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt Refinery, with Ojulari, suggesting that the mistake was to operate the facility before it was fully completed.

In 2021, the Federal Government had awarded a $1.5 billion contract to Marie Technimont, an Italian company, for the rehabilitation of the refinery, with Mele Kyari, its former GMD-CEO, saying in December 2023, that the refinery had reached 88 per cent completion and was scheduled for full operation after a mechanical completion by the end of the year.

After a long wait without much progress the company’s boss returned in November 2024, with another claim that had commenced production only for the story to change despite the huge fanfare that heralded the earlier claim when, in May 2025, the NNPCL management, now under Ojulari, announced a shutdown of the facility for another maintenance.

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Suggesting that it was a mistake to have started production when the facility was not ready, the new NNPCL boss, told reporters, that a review showed that the decision was ill-informed.

Against the backdrop of reports that Dangote was also making a pitch to acquired the company, Ojulari, maintained that the facility was not for sale, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant.

A statement from the parley, quoted him as saying: “The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery, before full completion of its rehabilitation, was ill-informed and sub-commercial.

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“Although progress is being made on all three, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery. Thus, selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion.

“The decision to retain the refinery was received with applause from hundreds of staff attendees who described the position as a renewed sense of business-focused direction across the organisation.

“The town hall served as more than a performance update; it was an opportunity for candid and constructive engagement. The Executive Vice Presidents 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.

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“In a tone marked by honesty and leadership, challenges and earlier missteps were acknowledged, and a clear roadmap was outlined for the journey ahead. The announcement reinforces NNPC’s mandate as a strategic custodian of national energy infrastructure and reflects a firm resolve to deliver on the complete rehabilitation and long-term viability of Nigeria’s refineries.

‘’It also signals continuity in the Federal Government’s broader energy security objectives and a commitment to retaining critical assets under national control.

“Feedback during and after the session revealed a workforce energised and aligned with the leadership’s vision. “Described as reassuring, transformational, and “sustainable, the atmosphere reflected an optimistic outlook among employees and hopefulness about the company’s evolving strategic direction.”

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