The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is under renewed scrutiny following the prolonged shutdown of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and underwhelming output from the recently recommissioned Port Harcourt Refinery. Industry stakeholders are raising serious concerns over the transparency, efficiency, and overall management of Nigeria’s refineries.
According to a document obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Warri refinery, which reportedly consumed $897.6 million in rehabilitation costs, has been idle since January 25, 2025, due to safety concerns linked to faults in the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) Main Heater. This shutdown occurred just weeks after former NNPC Group CEO, Mele Kyari, declared the plant operational.
In a damning contrast to public assurances, the Port Harcourt Refinery, which resumed production in November 2024 after a $1.5 billion rehabilitation, has only operated at an average capacity of 37.87%. Despite NNPCL’s claim of 70% capacity and plans to ramp up to 90%, production data shows the facility consistently fell short of expectations.
The Warri refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 125,000 barrels per day (bpd), was declared operational on December 30, 2024, but has remained dormant since late January. Located in Ekpan, Uvwie, and Ubeji areas of Warri, the plant was originally built to supply refined products to Nigeria’s southern and southwestern markets. While Kyari insisted during a plant tour that the revitalisation was real and visible, the data tells a different story.
The Port Harcourt Refinery has also fallen short. Despite claims of continuous operations and product delivery, production records show stark underperformance. Between November 2024 and April 2025, the refinery averaged 82.55 million litres of refined products per month—far below the projected 218 million litres. In March and April, no Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was evacuated, even as diesel production spiked.
Detailed figures reveal fluctuations in output. For instance, in December, the plant produced 108 million litres—still just 38% of its expected monthly capacity. Daily output of PMS peaked at 538,600 litres in December but fell to zero by March. Diesel production, on the other hand, saw increases, averaging nearly 968,000 litres per day in early April.
WRPC, meanwhile, managed only limited outputs in December and January before its shutdown—1.96 million litres of diesel and 2.84 million litres of kerosene in December; 10 million litres of diesel and 12 million litres of kerosene in January.
When contacted for clarification, NNPCL spokesperson Femi Soneye did not respond. In a February statement, however, he described the Warri shutdown as a planned maintenance operation to fix key equipment and ensure consistent production of diesel and kerosene.
Despite these reassurances, energy experts and industry operators are alarmed. Chief Chinedu Ukadike of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria called the Warri shutdown a “total waste,” demanding accountability and calling for a state of emergency in the refinery sector. He warned that the failures have left the market at the mercy of Dangote Refinery, undermining competition and effective deregulation.
Petroleum analyst Bala Zaka echoed these sentiments, stating that without reductions in fuel prices, the purported functionality of these refineries is meaningless. He emphasized that while technicalities may exist, practical economic benefits remain invisible to ordinary Nigerians.
Zaka also rejected privatisation as a solution, arguing that many oil-producing nations successfully manage state-owned refineries. Instead, he urged the government to take full responsibility and overhaul operations.
Meanwhile, industry veteran and former presidential adviser, Dan Kunle, labelled the refinery rehabilitation efforts as a scandal, accusing the previous NNPC leadership under Kyari of squandering resources while delivering no completed projects. He praised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to replace Kyari with Bayo Ojulari as NNPC CEO, calling the move overdue and necessary for reform.
“The previous team didn’t deliver a single complete project,” Kunle said. “What we saw were propaganda campaigns disguised as progress. The real industry stakeholders know better.”
With billions of dollars already spent and Nigerians still grappling with high fuel prices, calls for transparency, accountability, and real reform in the oil sector are growing louder. As both Warri and Port Harcourt refineries face operational setbacks, many are questioning whether NNPCL can deliver on its promise of energy sufficiency and economic revival.
