The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has dismissed rumours of a planned sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its resolve to complete the ongoing high-grade rehabilitation of the facility.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, made this known during a company-wide town hall meeting held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, ending weeks of speculation triggered by his earlier comments at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna.
Ojulari reportedly described any move to sell the refinery as ill-advised and commercially unwise.
He clarified that the company’s stance was not a reversal but a result of thorough technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.
The management noted that earlier plans to run the Port Harcourt plant before completing its overhaul were poorly conceived, and stressed the need for advanced technical partnerships to complete the rehabilitation. According to the company, selling the plant would result in further value loss, making such a move highly unlikely.