Idle Refineries Cost Nigeria N13trn in Two Years
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent an estimated N13.2 trillion on its three state-owned refineries between 2023 and 2024, despite the facilities failing to operate at commercially viable levels.
Figures from NNPC’s 2024 financial statements show that the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries owed the company N4.52 trillion in 2023 and N8.67 trillion in 2024, reflecting funds advanced for turnaround maintenance, operations, and bank charges.
Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari admitted the refineries had become a “monumental loss” to Nigeria. “We were just wasting money. I can say that confidently now,” he said at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026 in Abuja.
The Port Harcourt refinery absorbed the largest share, with obligations rising from N1.99 trillion in 2023 to N4.22 trillion in 2024.
Warri’s debt climbed from N1.17 trillion to N2.06 trillion, while Kaduna’s rose from N1.36 trillion to N2.39 trillion over the same period.
Ojulari revealed that crude oil was regularly supplied to the refineries, yet utilisation remained at only 50–55%.
“We were spending a lot of money on operations and contractors. But when you look at the net, we were just leaking away value,” he said.
He added that the lack of a credible recovery plan prompted his administration to halt refinery operations.
“Sometimes you make a loss during investment, but you have a line of sight to recovery. That line of sight was not clear here,” Ojulari explained.
The refineries had briefly resumed operations under former GCEO Mele Kyari in late 2024, but were shut down again within months.
Critics, including Aliko Dangote and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, have argued the plants may never function effectively despite billions spent.
Ojulari rejected calls to sell the refineries, insisting they could still be revived. Nigerians now await whether his leadership can finally turn around assets long seen as drainpipes on the nation’s resources.