The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has clarified that its new agreement with two Chinese firms for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries does not involve any fresh spending, contract award, or financial commitment from the company or the Federal Government.
According to Punch News, the deal which was signed with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, has triggered public debate over whether Nigeria is entering another costly refinery rehabilitation cycle. NNPCL, however, insists the arrangement is only a Technical Equity Partnership framework meant to explore future collaboration.
A senior NNPCL official explained that the memorandum is strictly a preliminary, non-binding understanding. It is designed to examine possible areas of cooperation, including operations, maintenance support, petrochemical expansion, and gas-based industrial development, rather than initiate any immediate project funding.
The official stressed that no contract has been awarded and no public funds will be deployed under the current arrangement. “There is no financial commitment. What we have is a framework to explore potential partnership structures,” the source said, noting that detailed commercial terms would only be considered at a later stage.
NNPCL added that its refinery strategy is now focused on equity partnerships where investors contribute capital and technical expertise, with returns tied strictly to performance, as the company seeks to avoid repeated costly rehabilitation exercises that have failed to deliver stable output in the past.