The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd has officially ruled out sale of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, reaffirming its commitment to completing high-graded rehabilitation and retention of the plant.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPC Limited, Engr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, announced this at a companywide town hall meeting at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, according to a statement yesterday.

He stated that the position isn’t a shift. Rather, it is informed by ongoing detailed technical and financial reviews of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries. “The ongoing review indicates that the earlier decision to operate the Port Harcourt refinery prior to full completion of its rehabilitation was ill-informed and sub-commercial.

Although progress is being made on all three, the emerging outlook calls for more advanced technical partnerships to complete and high-grade the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. Thus, selling is highly unlikely as it would lead to further value erosion,” Ojulari said.

The statement by the NNPC Ltd noted that the announcement came in the wake of widespread speculation following his remarks at the 2025 OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Austria earlier this month, where he said during an interview with Bloomberg that “all options are on the table.” It added that the comment sparked speculation and headlines about the future of the nation’s refining assets. The statement explained that the declaration (none

sale of the refinery) was received with applause from hundreds of staff attendees, who described the position as a renewed sense of business-focused direction across the organisation.