The Federal Government has hinted at plans to privatize Nigeria’s state-owned refineries as part of efforts to attract investors, enhance efficiency, and foster competition in the downstream oil sector currently dominated by the Dangote Refinery.
Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg TV during the ADIPEC Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Tuesday.
According to her, the government is exploring the option of selling the facilities to qualified private investors who can provide both the technical expertise and capital required to revive the plants.
“It’s one of the options you have to consider if you find the right technical partner with the right capital,” she said, adding that the removal of fuel subsidies has eliminated long-standing market distortions.
Nigeria’s four refineries — located in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna — have a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day but have been largely dormant for decades despite repeated and costly turnaround maintenance projects.
In October, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) announced it had begun a technical and commercial review of the non-functional refineries. Earlier in July, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, admitted that revamping the facilities had become increasingly complex, noting that an ongoing reassessment would be concluded by the end of the year.
Verheijen stated that Tinubu’s administration is committed to reforming the energy sector through efficiency, transparency, and increased private-sector involvement, aligning with the goal of transforming the petroleum industry into a commercially driven sector.
