The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has admitted that revamping Nigeria’s state-owned refineries has become more complicated than initially anticipated.
Naijaonpoint reports that Ojulari made this known in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, during the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria, where he disclosed that the NNPC is reassessing its refinery strategies and hopes to finalise the review before the end of the year.
Ojulari explained that despite significant investments and the adoption of modern technologies, challenges persist, largely due to the age and neglect of the facilities.
He said, “Some of those technologies have not worked as we expected so far. 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.”
According to him, the review currently underway might lead to a shift in approach, though no firm decisions have been made yet.
When asked about the possibility of selling the refineries, Ojulari did not dismiss the idea.
He said, “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.”
The NNPC had previously announced that the Port Harcourt refinery began crude oil processing in November 2023, only for it to be shut down again in May for maintenance. Meanwhile, the Warri and Kaduna refineries continue to undergo rehabilitation.
Ojulari also gave insights into Nigeria’s crude oil production costs, revealing that operating costs currently hover between $20 and $30 per barrel, which he described as high.
He said, “Part of that is because of the investment we’ve had to make in terms of security of our pipelines. Today we have 100 percent availability of our pipelines. That came out of a significant investment.”
Despite the high costs, he expressed optimism that stability will eventually bring costs down.
Looking ahead, Ojulari said Nigeria aims to ramp up oil production to 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2025, signalling renewed efforts to boost national output amid global oil market uncertainties.
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