The presidency has signaled that plans for the complete privatisation of the state-owned refineries, including the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, are underway.
Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, disclosed this in a bulletin released on Sunday via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The circular highlighted key milestones achieved by the administration in the oil and gas sector.
According to Dare, the full privatization of these refineries is “in the works,” though he did not specify a timeline for its execution.
The four national refineries, which have remained non-functional for over four decades despite trillions of naira invested in them, have left Nigeria reliant on imported petrol.
This dependence has exerted significant pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.
Dare, however, said: “Full privatization of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refining in the works.
“With full local refining gradually being met, days of fuel queues to end.”
In August 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had announced plans to engage private companies for the operation and maintenance of its refineries in Kaduna and Warri.
The national oil company disclosed this in a circular issued via its official X account.
According to NNPC, these companies will play a pivotal role in ensuring the reliability and sustainability of the refineries to meet the country’s petrol supply and energy security requirements.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is an integrated Oil and Gas company engaged in petroleum/gas exploration, refining and petrochemicals, transportation, storage, and marketing.
“NNPC Ltd is seeking to engage reputable and credible Operations & Maintenance (O&M) companies to operate and maintain two of its refineries, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), to ensure reliability and sustainability to meet the nation’s fuel supply and energy security obligations,” the circular said.
The Kaduna and Warri refineries are two of the four refineries owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited for decades.
Nigeria’s state-owned refineries are located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.
The lack of functional refineries has compelled the country to depend heavily on imported refined petroleum products, significantly impacting the national economy.
NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, had promised that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations last August.
He also stated that the refineries in Kaduna and Warri were scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2025.
However, these deadlines for resuming refinery operations have not been met, raising skepticism about the feasibility of the current timeline.