The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has officially ruled out the sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), ending weeks of speculation over the fate of Nigeria’s flagship state-owned refinery.
Speaking during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, said the corporation remains fully committed to completing the refinery’s ongoing high-grade rehabilitation and retaining ownership.
“Selling the Port Harcourt Refining Company would be ill-advised and sub-commercial,” Ojulari stated.
The clarification comes in response to rising public concern following Ojulari’s earlier remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, where he said “all options are on the table” regarding the future of Nigeria’s refineries. The comment had ignited widespread speculation that a sale was imminent.
In a formal statement issued Wednesday, NNPC emphasized that the company’s stance is not a policy shift but the outcome of ongoing technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
“The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery before full rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial,” the company said.
While acknowledging progress on all three refinery projects, Ojulari stressed the need for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and upgrade the Port Harcourt facility.
“Selling is highly unlikely, as it would lead to further value erosion,” he added.
The Port Harcourt refinery has been the subject of multiple overhaul attempts in recent years, with NNPC projecting its phased return to operational status. Wednesday’s announcement affirms the national oil company’s long-term strategy to restore local refining capacity without relinquishing control of key assets.