- Safiu Kehinde
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has explained reason behind its administration’s decision to halt the operations of Port Harcourt, Warri, and other refineries ran by the company.
Ojulari disclosed that the operations were halted on account of monumental loss to the country as well as value erosion observed in the course of the operations.
The NNPC boss made this known on Wednesday in Abuja during a fireside chat titled “Securing Nigeria’s Energy Future” at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026.
While offering insight into the commercial and operational realities confronting NNPC’s refining assets, Ojulari acknowledged public outrage over the refineries’ non-functionality.
He maintained that anger was justified, considering the scale of public funds invested over the years and the high expectations placed on the facilities.
“On the refineries, Nigerians were angry. A lot of money has been spent, and expectations were very high. So we were under extreme pressure, extreme pressure.” He said.
Ojulari however explained that a detailed review of refinery operations conducted by his administration shortly after coming on board revealed a harsh financial reality which required drastic action.
According to reports, he revealed that NNPC was consistently pumping crude cargoes into the refineries each month, yet utilisation levels hovered around 50-55 per cent, resulting in significant value leakage.
“The first thing that became clear, and I want to say this very clearly, is that we were running at a monumental loss to Nigeria. We were just wasting money. I can say that confidently now,
“We were spending a lot of money on operations, a lot of money on contractors. But when you look at the net, we were just leaking away value,” Ojulari said.
He also noted the absence of any credible plan to turn the losses around which further prompted the decision to halt operations.
“Sometimes you make a loss during investment, but you have a line of sight to recovery. That line of sight was not clear here,
“We decided to stop the refinery and do a quick check. We planned that if things were lined up, we would reopen and work on them,” he said.
Ojulari disclosed that part of the value destruction stemmed from the quality of products being produced, citing the Port Harcourt Refinery as an example.
“The crude we were taking into Port Harcourt was producing mid-grade products. When you aggregate their value compared to what you put in, it was a waste,” he said.
Ojulari acknowledged that the decision to halt operations was politically sensitive, noting that NNPC had historically been pressured to keep refineries running to ensure fuel supply continuity.
“There were political pressures to keep the refinery product, lots of pressure. But when you have been trained for over 35 years to focus on commerciality and profitability, you can’t sleep with that,” he said.