Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity could receive a fresh boost as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited opens talks with a Chinese petrochemical firm over the revival of one of its state-owned refineries.
The disclosure was made by NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, during a fireside chat at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026 held in Abuja on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
According to Ojulari, the move is part of a broader strategy to bring in experienced refinery operators as equity partners to turn around NNPC’s four refineries after years of losses, weak utilisation, and operational underperformance.
Ojulari explained that an internal review conducted shortly after he assumed office in April 2025 revealed that NNPC’s refineries were running at huge losses, driven by high operating costs and heavy contractor spending despite low processing volumes.
He said the NNPC board has now approved a new strategy focused on attracting operators with proven refinery expertise as equity partners, rather than continuing with contractor-led arrangements.
“So the current NNPC strategy, as approved by our board, is to focus on getting partners that have a track record of running refineries. We are not looking for contractors. We are not looking for Operations and Maintenance.”
“We are looking for an entity that runs refineries. We are looking forward to them buying some of our shares. So when you say sell, we will not say we are selling the refineries.”
“We will probably look at options where you can sell down some of our equity, so that they have a skin in the game.”
“I’m just coming from a meeting with one of the potential investors… It’s a Chinese company that has one of the biggest petrochemical plants in China.”
Ojulari stressed that while NNPC is not planning an outright sale of the refineries, it is willing to relinquish as much equity as required to secure a sustainable operating and financing model.
