The Federal Government has indicated that it may sell off its publicly-owned refineries in a move aimed at attracting investors, boosting competition, and improving efficiency in the downstream oil sector, currently dominated by the Dangote Refinery.
The disclosure was made by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen, during an interview with Bloomberg TV anchor, Joumanna Bercetche, on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) on Tuesday.
Verheijen said that letting go of the refineries owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is one of several reform options the government is exploring to reposition the energy sector for sustainable growth.
“It’s one of the options that you have to consider if you find the right technical partner with the right capital,” Verheijen said.
The plants have largely been sustained by subsidies, “but now that we’ve removed the subsidies, we’ve removed the distortions in that market,” she said.
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries — located in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna — have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd) but have remained largely dormant for decades, despite repeated turnaround maintenance projects that cost the government billions of dollars.
According to Verheijen, the government’s reform agenda under President Tinubu aims to restore market efficiency and transparency, ensuring that the petroleum sector operates on purely commercial terms.
NNPC looking for technical partners for refineries
Meanwhile, NNPCL said last week that it is already seeking technical equity partners capable of managing and operating the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries at international standards.
“We are looking ahead with optimism to ensure our refineries operate effectively,” NNPC Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari said in a post on X.
The government also sees a long-anticipated initial public offering for NNPC as “an end destination,” Verheijen said. “What’s really important to the shareholders is that we have an NNPC that’s a lot more transparent, a lot more efficient and delivers.”
Any buyers for the plants will compete with the giant 650,000-barrel-a-day refinery owned by Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote. It already produces more gasoline and diesel than can be consumed locally, the company said in a statement last week. Dangote last month announced plans to more than double the plant’s capacity.
What you should know
In June, the NNPCL 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 refinery was shut down on May 24, 2025, for scheduled repairs of 30 days, but it’s now been over 80 days without any significant activity or commitment under the administration of the new GCEO of NNPCL.
Now that the refineries will be sold. Those that consciously and deliberately ran it aground should be made to give account of their role in the entire mess. because this whole thing has far reached negative impact on the Nigerian people.