The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has formally dispelled speculations surrounding the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, affirming its decision to retain ownership and push ahead with a comprehensive rehabilitation programme.
The disclosure was made during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, where the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr Bayo Ojulari, categorically stated that the state-owned asset would not be divested.
In an official statement issued by the company, NNPCL noted: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-grade rehabilitation and retention of the plant.”
The Corporation described the previous notion of operating the refinery prior to the full completion of its rehabilitation as “ill-informed and subcommercial.”
While acknowledging ongoing progress across the refinery’s key components, NNPCL stated that the emerging technical and financial landscape necessitates advanced partnerships to complete and optimise the rehabilitation process.
“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 the Port Harcourt refinery,” the statement added.
The company further stressed that any move to divest the asset at this stage would likely result in “further value erosion,” thereby making such a decision economically imprudent.
With this declaration, NNPCL has drawn a clear line under weeks of speculation, signalling its intent to preserve national strategic assets and ensure the long-term sustainability of domestic refining capacity.
