The long-awaited rollout of finished petroleum products from the Port Harcourt Refinery began today Tuesday with the loading of fuel and diesel and transport by tankers for distribution nationwide.
In June 2023, the government had promised that in December 2023 the refinery would begin to dispense locally-refined fuel for domestic consumption in place of imported products.
Today Tuesday the promised truck-out of products finally began, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The development came as the Nigerian presidency announced plans to fully privatisation the country’s state-owned refineries, including the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna facilities are underway.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, posted this update in a statement posted on Sunday via his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
He tweeted: “The full privatisation of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries is in progress,” Dare stated, though he did not provide a specific timeline for the initiative.
Nigeria’s four national refineries have remained largely inoperative for over four decades, despite the federal government investing trillions of naira in maintenance and rehabilitation. This failure has left the country heavily reliant on imported petrol, placing immense pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.
Dare expressed optimism that local refining would eventually meet domestic demand, easing the perennial issue of fuel shortages.
“With full local refining gradually being met, the days of fuel queues will end,” he added.
In August 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited announced plans to involve private operators in managing the Kaduna and Warri refineries. In a circular shared via its official X account, NNPC disclosed its intent to collaborate with credible operations and maintenance (O&M) firms.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, an integrated oil and gas company involved in exploration, refining, petrochemicals, transportation, storage, and marketing, seeks to engage reputable and credible operations & maintenance (O&M) companies to operate and maintain the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC),” the circular stated.
