By Franklin Adole
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, has described the $1.5 billion rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery and Petrochemical Company as a huge waste of resources, saying the national oil company lacks the capacity to operate refineries profitably, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from industry operators.
Ojulari made the remarks yesterday while speaking at the ongoing 2026 Nigerian International Energy Summit, where he said NNPCL does not currently possess the financial, technical and operational strength required to sustainably run a refinery.
According to him, efficient refinery operations demand adequate financing, competent Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors, as well as strong operational and maintenance capacity, conditions he said NNPCL has been unable to meet.
The Port Harcourt Refinery, rehabilitated at a cost of about $1.5 billion under the leadership of former NNPCL GCEO, Mele Kyari, was reopened in November 2024 after nearly three years of rehabilitation but was shut down again in May 2025 following sustained financial losses.
Ojulari said a detailed review of the refinery’s operations showed that it was running at a significant loss to the country.
“The first thing that became clear was that we were running at a monumental loss to Nigeria. We were just wasting money. I can say that confidently now,” he said.
He explained that one of his earliest decisions was to halt further losses by shutting down the facility and reassessing options.
“So the first decision I had to make was to stop the rot by shutting it down and then quickly recalibrating to see what could be done,” he added.
Questioning how the refinery continued to record losses despite regular crude supply, Ojulari said utilisation levels hovered between 50 and 55 per cent, resulting in value erosion.
“We were pumping cargo into the refinery every month. Those cargoes have value, and we were losing that value. We were spending a lot of money on operations and contractors.
“But when you look at the net outcome, we were just leaking value, and there was no clarity on how to turn those losses into positive returns,” he said.
Ojulari said NNPCL is now seeking reliable partners with proven experience in refinery management rather than contractors or operations-and-maintenance service providers.
“We are not looking for contractors. We are not looking for O&M service providers. We are looking for an entity that actually runs refineries,” he said.
He added that the success of the Dangote Refinery had eased pressure on government to rush decisions on reviving state-owned refineries.
“There was a lot of pressure about continuity, but we were not under that pressure. And thank God for Dangote Refinery. Thank God. Whether you love Dangote or hate him, thank God.
“Thank God he is a Nigerian and not someone from another continent. Despite everything, that gave us breathing space because we now have a refinery that is working,” Ojulari said.
However, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) faulted the NNPCL boss for what it described as an attempt to justify the failure of a public asset by praising a private investment.
In a statement issued Wednesday, PETROAN’s National Public Relations Officer, Joseph Obele, said while the Dangote Refinery is a commendable private achievement, it cannot replace the constitutional and economic obligation of government to efficiently manage national assets.
“Dangote Refinery is a private investment driven by profit and efficiency. NNPC, on the other hand, holds national assets in trust for Nigerians. One cannot be used as an excuse for the failure of the other,” Obele said.
He warned that repeated public admissions of incompetence by NNPCL leadership could erode investor confidence, weaken Nigeria’s energy security framework, and undermine years of policy efforts aimed at domestic refining, price stability and job creation.
Obele said Ojulari’s appointment was to solve problems, “not to retreat behind the success of a private refinery,” describing as most worrisome the assertion that there was no urgency to restart the Port Harcourt Refinery because Dangote was meeting Nigeria’s fuel needs.
“Such a statement is annoying, unacceptable, and indicative of leadership that is not solution-centric,” he said, adding that Nigeria must not normalise waste, institutional failure and retrospective justification of poor decisions.
He stressed that admitting failure is only meaningful when followed by accountability, reforms and a clear, credible plan to prevent recurrence. Obele further warned that continued shutdown of the refinery after huge rehabilitation costs could lead to rust, corrosion and equipment failure, ultimately rendering the entire revamp futile.
The PETROAN spokesman disclosed that the association would lobby civil society groups and relevant stakeholders to explore legal options to demand the removal of the NNPCL GCEO should the Port Harcourt Refinery fail to resume operations on or before March 1, 2026.
On oil production, Ojulari said Nigeria could achieve 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026 but described the Federal Government’s 2025 budget benchmark of 2.06 million barrels per day as overambitious. He noted that average production last year was about 1.7 million barrels per day.
He warned that overprojection of output and revenue had contributed to Nigeria’s recent fiscal challenges, stressing the need for credible and realistic production planning to avoid future crises.