The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is facing widespread criticism following revelations that the $897.6 million spent on the Warri Refinery revamp has yielded no tangible results, with the facility shut down barely a month after its purported restart.
According to documents obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, which was declared operational in December 2024, ceased operations on January 25, 2025, due to critical safety faults in its Crude Distillation Unit Main Heater. Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt Refinery, recommissioned in November 2024, is reportedly operating at less than 40 per cent of its installed capacity.
The shutdown of the Warri refinery and the underperformance of the Port Harcourt plant have fueled skepticism about NNPCL’s operational integrity, transparency, and efficiency. Industry experts described the developments as “disheartening,” urging urgent reforms and greater accountability in the nation’s ailing refinery sector.
In December, former NNPCL Group CEO Mele Kyari had celebrated the “revitalisation” of the Warri refinery, which was supposed to produce critical products like Straight Run Kerosene, Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), and Naphtha. President Bola Tinubu also hailed the refurbishment as a milestone under his Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at achieving energy sufficiency and boosting Nigeria’s export capacity.
However, a detailed analysis of the refineries’ output paints a bleak picture. The Port Harcourt refinery, for instance, has only operated at an average of 37.87 per cent capacity over six months, with daily evacuations of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) dropping drastically from December’s peak to zero by March 2025. Despite claims that the facility was operating at 70 per cent capacity, actual production data showed otherwise.
While the NNPCL initially cited “routine maintenance” for the Warri shutdown, experts and operators said the failures underscore deeper systemic issues. Chief Chinedu Ukadike, National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), described the refinery setbacks as a “total waste” of national resources, calling for a state of emergency to be declared on Nigeria’s refineries.
Similarly, petroleum expert Bala Zaka criticized the government’s claims, stating that Nigerians had yet to see reductions in the prices of diesel, petrol, and cooking gas — indicators of actual refinery performance. Zaka, however, opposed privatization, advocating instead for government-led, efficient refinery management like other OPEC nations.
Adding to the concerns, oil and gas expert Dan Kunle labelled the Warri and Port Harcourt refinery projects under Kyari’s leadership a “scandal,” accusing the former NNPCL management of mismanagement and propaganda rather than delivering real value to Nigerians. Kunle praised President Tinubu’s decision to replace Kyari with Bayo Ojulari, describing it as a long-overdue move to restore competence to NNPCL’s leadership.
Despite NNPCL’s assurances that intervention works were progressing and that operations would soon resume, the silence from the company’s spokesperson and the stark contrast between public claims and actual output data continue to fuel public mistrust.
The failure of the multi-billion dollar refinery rehabilitation projects is seen as a critical setback in Nigeria’s quest for energy security, further reinforcing reliance on imports and the Dangote Refinery as the nation’s main source of refined petroleum products.
