AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Oil marketers and industry stakeholders have welcomed the potential sale of Nigeria’s underperforming refineries, urging the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to ensure transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in the process.
The call comes amid growing concerns over the inefficiency of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, which have consumed trillions of naira in maintenance and rehabilitation with little to no output.
Marketers believe that privatising the assets could introduce real competition in the downstream sector, enhance fuel availability, and drive down prices.
Their reactions follow recent comments by NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, who revealed in an interview with Bloomberg at the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria, that rehabilitation efforts have not yielded the expected results due to the refineries’ obsolete infrastructure.
Ojulari disclosed that the company is reassessing its strategy and plans to conclude the review by year-end. “Sale is not out of the question,” he said, noting that “all options are on the table” pending the outcome of the ongoing assessment.
Industry sources say the proposal coincides with a statement by Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote, who suggested that the refineries may never become viable due to years of mismanagement.
In an interview, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, described privatisation as a logical move given the facilities’ history of inefficiencies.
“We had earlier recommended that privatisation is the best path forward, and we still maintain that position,” he said. However, he urged caution, querying the motives and timing behind the renewed push for asset sales.
“If this is to be done, it must be done right—with full disclosure and the national interest at heart,” he added.
