Bulk petroleum retailers in Port Harcourt have criticised the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, over his recent comments regarding the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refinery.
Ojulari had stated that the refinery was incurring losses of up to ₦500 million every month prior to the suspension of its rehabilitation works. He explained that although the refinery was processing about 50,000 barrels of crude, less than 40 per cent of the input was effectively refined.
“When I resumed, one of the first priorities I focused on was the refinery. I did a quick review to see if we could quickly fix it. What I found is that we were losing between $300 million and $500 million on a monthly basis,” Ojulari said.
“The first thing we said was, ‘Rather than continue to lose, let’s quickly stop and look for a way to put this refinery into a sustainably profitable venture.’”
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However, the Host Community Bulk Petroleum Retailers, through an official statement signed by Joseph Obele, expressed concern over Ojulari’s remarks, suggesting they confirmed suspicions that the CEO was favouring private refineries over public ones.
“The GCEO mentioned that upon assuming office, he found that operating the refinery was resulting in financial losses, prompting the decision to halt operations in search of a sustainable solution.
This statement has vindicated stakeholders in the oil and gas sector who earlier suspected that the GCEO of NNPCL was working in favour of a private refinery at the expense of the nation-owned refinery,” the statement read.
The retailers accused Ojulari of prioritising the interests of private refineries while neglecting public facilities like the Port Harcourt refinery, which was shut down despite billions of naira having been spent on its renovation. They argued that the refinery should have been allowed to continue operating while the review process was underway.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to take urgent and decisive action to revitalise the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, highlighting the potential benefits of boosting the nation’s GDP and creating jobs.
“We urge President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action in making the refineries functional to boost GDP and create jobs,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, Ojulari revealed that meeting President Tinubu’s mandate to increase oil and gas production and expand refining capacity would require fresh investments estimated at around $60 billion.
He added that securing such investments would depend on sustained reforms, investor confidence, and strengthened partnerships with operators, government agencies, and accountability bodies such as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
