Nigeria Wasted Billions On Refineries – NNPCL Boss Ojulari Reveals

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, has defended the decision to halt operations at Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, saying the move was guided by economic realities rather than political considerations. Speaking at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), Ojulari explained that an internal commercial review revealed that continuing refinery operations under the current structure was financially unsustainable.

According to Ojulari, the four government-owned refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, with a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, have long operated below optimal levels while consuming billions of naira annually in maintenance and operating costs. “We were just wasting money. The refineries were leaking value, and there was no clear line of sight on how those losses would ever turn into profits,” he said.

Ojulari noted that operating the refineries merely to show activity made no commercial sense. He added that the federal government spent over ₦11 trillion on rehabilitation and maintenance between 2010 and 2023, yet Nigeria remained heavily reliant on imported fuel, putting pressure on foreign exchange reserves and the wider economy.

He traced the decline in refinery performance to a shift in focus during the 2000s from operational excellence to engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracting and financing-driven interventions, which undermined preventive maintenance and internal operational capacity. The 2025 shutdown, Ojulari said, was a pragmatic step to stop value loss and reposition the country’s refining framework sustainably.

Acknowledging public pressure to keep the refineries running, Ojulari described the shutdown not as a failure but as an act of responsible governance. “Leadership is not about maintaining broken systems for optics. It is about stopping the bleeding and reassessing,” he said.

Ojulari also highlighted the privately owned Dangote Refinery as a stabilizing factor, allowing Nigeria to rethink its refinery strategy without risking fuel shortages. He outlined a new strategic direction for NNPC’s assets, emphasizing the need for financing, competent EPC contractors, and world-class operational capacity. The company plans to invite experienced global operators to hold equity stakes and manage operations long-term, while ensuring Nigeria retains ownership.

“The system was designed for everyone to take from it, not to put anything into it. We are ending that era,” Ojulari said, stressing that the decision represents discipline, transparency, and a fundamental restructuring of the country’s refining approach.