The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has hinted that the Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries may be sold after the ongoing review is concluded.
He added that the NNPC is in the process of reassessing its refinery strategies, with plans to conclude the review by the end of the year.
Ojulari disclosed this while speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria.
He acknowledged growing complexities in the effort to revamp Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
TheHintsNews reports that the Port Harcourt refinery began processing crude oil again on November 26, it was later shut down in May for maintenance.
However, rehabilitation work is still ongoing at the Warri and Kaduna refineries.
Ojulari stated:“So refineries, we made quite a lot of investment over the last several years and brought in a lot of technologies. We’ve been challenged.
“Some of those technologies have not worked as we expected so far. But also, as you know, when you’re refining a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we’re finding is that it’s becoming a little bit more complicated.
“So we’re reviewing all our refinery strategies now. We hope before the end of the year, we’ll be able to conclude that review. That review may lead to us doing things slightly differently.”
When asked whether the review could result in selling the refineries, Ojulari said a sale remains a possibility.
“But what we’re saying is that sale is not out of the question. All the options are on the table, to be frank, but that decision will be based on the outcome of the reviews we’re doing now.”