The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is considering the sale of Nigeria’s refineries, the group chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, Bayo Ojulari has said.
Ojulari, in an interview with Bloomberg, said revamping state-owned refineries is becoming more complicated than expected.
Recall that the NNPCL had in November 2024, announced that the Port Harcourt refinery had commenced the processing of crude oil.
However, the refinery abruptly shut down operations in May 2025 for maintenance and has since remained shut.
The Warri and Kaduna refineries are, however, still undergoing rehabilitation.
However, Ojulari said there is an ongoing review of the refineries to fashion out the company’s next line of action with regard to its operations.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 9th OPEC international seminar in Vienna, Austria, the NBPCL boss said Nigeria has made a huge investment in the refineries in the last years.
“Some of those technologies have not worked as we expected so far. But also, as you know, when you’re refining a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we’re finding is that it’s becoming a little bit more complicated.
“So we’re reviewing all our refinery strategies now. We hope before the end of the year, we’ll be able to conclude that review. That review may lead to us doing things slightly differently.”
“But what we’re saying is that sale is not out of the question. All the options are on the table, to be frank, but that decision will be based on the outcome of the reviews we’re doing now,” Ojulari said.
According to him, the operating cost of oil production in Nigeria has also been a challenge.
“For the cost of crude production, there’s a capital cost and there are the operating costs. The operating cost right now in Nigeria is hovering over $20 per barrel, which is quite high.
“Part of that is because of the investment we’ve had to make in terms of security of our pipelines, which as you know, today we have 100 per cent availability of our pipelines. That came out of a significant investment.
“So we believe with time, with stability, that cost will start going down, but for now it’s somewhere between $25 and $30 a barrel,” he noted.
