Nigeria is stepping up its efforts to renovate its four oil refineries, long considered moribund, with tangible results: the first refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri have resumed operations after two years of massive rehabilitation.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), the refurbishment undertaken is not limited to conventional turnaround maintenance (TAM), but represents a complete overhaul of the facilities. The aim of the work is to bring the refineries up to world standards in terms of sustainable operation and performance. The first refinery at Port Harcourt, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), and the Warri refinery were the first to benefit from this transformation.
NNPC Ltd. is also continuing to rehabilitate the second Port Harcourt refinery, with a capacity of 150,000 bpd, and the Kaduna refinery, as part of an ambitious project to revitalise its entire refining infrastructure.
Despite these advances, former president Olusegun Obasanjo expressed doubts about the viability of the refineries. He cited earlier concerns expressed by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), pointing to problems of corruption and accusing NNPC Ltd. of misleading Nigerians about the true state of the facilities.
In response, Olufemi Soneye, NNPC Ltd's Director of Corporate Communications, defended the progress made. He invited the former president to visit the rehabilitated refineries to see first-hand the transformations that have taken place under the leadership of Mele Kyari, GCEO of NNPC Ltd. "We deeply respect the contributions and ideas of the former president and encourage him to participate in this historic trip," he said.
Under its new status as a private entity, NNPC Ltd. has repositioned itself as an integrated energy player, going beyond traditional oil exploitation. "Our goal is to provide cleaner, affordable and sustainable energy solutions to meet Nigeria's growing needs," said Soneye. This strategy is supported by President Bola Tinubu's transformative policies, which have made the country's energy sector more competitive.
With the resumption of operations at its strategic refineries and ongoing reforms, Nigeria is taking a major step towards energy self-sufficiency, reducing its dependence on imports of refined products and boosting its economic growth.