By Joan Nwagwu
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Bayo Ojulari, says the company is considering partnering with a professional refinery operator to address Nigeria’s lingering refining challenges.
Ojulari said this on Thursday while receiving members of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
He said NNPC had completed technical assessments on the country’s three refineries and recently concluded a commercial review of the Port Harcourt Refinery, which revealed the need for a more sustainable business model.
“The solution you are proposing is the same one we are working on.
“We have now completed the technical review of the three refineries, and from the commercial review of Port Harcourt, it’s clear that we need to bring in a true professional refinery company to partner with us,” Ojulari stated.
He explained that years of neglect and inadequate maintenance had rendered the refineries commercially unviable, resulting in losses of between N300 million to N500 million monthly.
“We were pumping around 50,000 barrels of crude daily into the refinery, but getting less than 40 per cent output.
“So, rather than continue to incur losses, we halted operations to seek a viable and profitable model,” he added.
Ojulari emphasised that President Bola Tinubu had not exerted any political pressure on NNPC to resume refinery operations prematurely, stressing that all steps taken so far had been focused on ensuring long-term sustainability.
“There was no political pressure to keep running at a loss. We decided to freeze operations and focus on getting it right,” he said.
He also addressed recent protests and calls for his removal, revealing several targets of coordinated harassment.
“There is a formidable plan to remove me, and staff morale has taken a hit. But we are focused on delivering our mandate,” Ojulari stated.
Earlier, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, hailed the current NNPC leadership for improved pipeline functionality and increased oil production since Ojulari’s appointment.
He also expressed the union’s readiness to support NNPC in its drive toward energy stability.
“We are currently producing about 1.8 million barrels per day.
“Our goal is to reach 2.6 million barrels by 2026 by addressing issues like non-producing fields,” Osifo said.
