The presidency has indicated that plans are underway for the full privatization of the state-owned refineries, including the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna facilities.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare shared this update in a bulletin released on Sunday via his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The announcement outlined key milestones achieved by the administration in the oil and gas sector. Dare confirmed that the full privatization of these refineries is “in the works,” although he did not provide a specific timeline for its completion.
The four national refineries, which have been non-functional for over 40 years despite significant investments amounting to trillions of naira, have left Nigeria heavily dependent on imported petrol. This reliance has put substantial strain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the privatization efforts are seen as crucial to ensuring the refineries’ long-term reliability and sustainability, in order to meet Nigeria’s domestic petrol supply and energy security needs.
However, past missed deadlines for the resumption of refinery operations have led to skepticism regarding the feasibility of the current timeline for privatization.
