By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has commenced a comprehensive evaluation of its partnership with Chinese firms to rehabilitate and operate the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, signalling a fresh push to transform the long-troubled facilities into commercially viable, self-sustaining assets.
The national oil company said the initiative represents a strategic shift from previous rehabilitation efforts, with emphasis on performance-driven partnerships capable of delivering long-term operational efficiency and profitability.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Friday, amid renewed calls by petroleum marketers for the Federal Government to fast-track negotiations that would finally restore Nigeria’s state-owned refineries to sustainable production.
According to Ojulari, reviving the country’s refineries requires more than merely replacing obsolete equipment or performing routine repairs.
“Fixing a refinery takes more than pipes and pumps. It takes the right partners. That is the thinking behind the MoU recently signed for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which has now entered a rigorous evaluation phase,” he said.
He explained that NNPC was pursuing a new business model anchored on performance, accountability and commercial sustainability rather than short-term interventions.
“We are introducing a performance-based business partnership model built for profitable and self-sustaining refineries,” Ojulari stated.
The NNPC boss clarified that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the prospective Chinese partners should not be interpreted as a final contractual commitment.
Instead, he said, it provides a framework for both parties to assess the commercial and technical viability of the proposed collaboration before any binding agreement is executed.
“The MoU is an agreement to explore working together, not a binding contract. Evaluation, not commitment, is the current phase,” he said.
Ojulari added that the prospective partners would bear the full cost of the due diligence process, ensuring that the evaluation remains objective, data-driven and commercially sound.
Beyond refinery rehabilitation, he said the discussions are expected to unlock fresh investments across Nigeria’s downstream energy sector, including petrochemical production and gas-based industries.
“The vision extends beyond refining. It includes expanding the petrochemicals value chain and investing in gas-based industries, including new methanol plants. Real change is built through discipline applied consistently at every stage,” he added.
NNPC had on April 30, 2026, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Chinese firms—Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd—to explore the rehabilitation and potential co-management of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
The arrangement is expected to attract technical expertise, financing and operational efficiency after years of repeated shutdowns and multi-billion-dollar rehabilitation efforts that yielded limited results.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company operates two plants with a combined installed capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, while the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company has a capacity of 125,000 barrels per day.
Together with the 110,000 barrels-per-day Kaduna Refinery, the facilities have consumed billions of dollars in rehabilitation funding over the years but have struggled to sustain commercial production.
The latest initiative comes as petroleum marketers intensify calls for the Federal Government to conclude negotiations with competent international partners capable of restoring the refineries to profitability.
National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, recently urged the government to accelerate discussions with the Chinese firms, arguing that Nigeria could no longer afford endless spending on refinery rehabilitation without achieving lasting results.
