By Muhammad Mamman
Nigeria’s state-owned oil company has acknowledged that it lacks the technical and operational capacity to run the country’s refineries on a profitable basis, reinforcing long-standing concerns over inefficiency in the nation’s downstream petroleum sector.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) made the admission on Tuesday, saying the company’s refineries had become financial liabilities after decades of poor maintenance, underinvestment and repeated operational failures.
Speaking at an industry forum in Abuja, the NNPC boss said the national oil company no longer has the expertise required to efficiently manage large-scale refining operations, despite spending billions of naira on turnaround maintenance over the years.
“Our refineries have not delivered value for money,” he said. “We do not have the capacity today to operate them profitably, which is why we are pursuing partnerships with credible private investors.”
Nigeria has four state-owned refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, with a combined installed capacity of about 445,000 barrels per day. However, they have largely remained dormant for years, forcing Africa’s biggest oil producer to rely heavily on imported petrol and other refined products.
The admission comes as the federal government pushes ahead with plans to rehabilitate the ageing facilities through joint ventures and concession agreements with private operators.
Analysts say the comments underscore the urgency of reforms in Nigeria’s oil sector, especially following the removal of fuel subsidies and the launch of major private projects such as the Dangote Refinery, which is expected to reduce the country’s dependence on imports.
Energy experts argue that without significant private-sector involvement, Nigeria’s refineries are unlikely to become commercially viable, warning that continued public ownership could deepen losses and strain government finances.
The NNPC chief executive said the company remains committed to restructuring its operations in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, adding that transparency and commercial discipline would guide future investments in the downstream sector.
