Idle refineries consume N13.2tn as NNPC admits losses

AkoniTV February 9, 2026 News Leave a comment 25 Views

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) reportedly spent about N13.2tn on Nigeria’s three state-owned refineries between 2023 and 2024, mainly on turnaround maintenance, operations and related bank charges, despite the facilities bringing in significant losses and failing to operate at commercially sustainable levels.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, admitted that the refineries had become a major financial burden to the nation, describing their operations as a “monumental loss” to Nigeria.

At a fireside chat in Abuja titled “Securing Nigeria’s Energy Future’, at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026, Ojulari gave uncommon knowledge into the commercial realities following the problematic refining assets.

According to figures contained in NNPC’s 2024 financial statements, the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries owed the national oil firm N4.52tn in 2023, with the figure rising to N8.67tn by the end of 2024. The combination of both is about N13.2tn.

NNPC explained in its accounts that the increasing balances reflected funding provided for refinery operations, turnaround maintenance and bank charges, particularly under the administration of the former Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, who tried to revive the facilities.

However, Ojulari suggested that the these efforts to improve the refineries are a waste of money.

Ojulari stated, “The first thing became clear, and I want to say this very clearly, is that we were running at a monumental loss to Nigeria. We were just wasting money. I can say that confidently now.”

He noted that the public outrage over the refineries was justified, considering the huge sums invested and the expectation that domestic refining would relieve challenges of fuel supply.

The financial statements revealed that the Port Harcourt refinery received the highest funding. Its obligations to NNPC increased from N1.99tn in 2023 to N4.22tn in 2024, more than N2.22tn within one year.

Not only that, despite the amount spent, the refinery reportedly recorded no receivables in both years, suggesting that the funds advanced were not offset by revenue generated from refinery operations.

Moreover, at the Warri refinery, the amount owed to NNPC rose from N1.17tn in 2023 to N2.06tn in 2024. Although the facility recorded N81.64bn in amounts from other NNPC entities in 2023, this disappeared in 2024 as costs mounted and operations failed to generate material income.

Also, the Kaduna refinery also recorded increased obligations, rising from N1.36tn in 2023 to N2.39tn in 2024, which can be attributed to continued spending on maintenance, security, staffing and finance-related costs during the turnaround maintenance process.

Furthermore, Ojulari described that the refineries were supplied crude oil regularly despite their poor performance, and utilisation levels remained between 50 and 55 per cent.

“We were pumping crude into the refineries every month. But utilisation was around 50 to 55 per cent. 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.

“Sometimes you make a loss during investment, but you have a line of sight to recovery. That line of sight was not clear here. On the refineries, Nigerians were angry. A lot of money has been spent, and expectations were very high. So we were under extreme pressure,” Ojulari added.

It was also claimed that about 200 trucks of petrol would be supplied to the Nigerian market daily.

Last year, President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, expressed doubts over the possibility of the refineries functioning again, despite claims that about $18bn had been spent on them. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also questioned the repeated attempts to rehabilitate the facilities, suggesting that NNPC was aware they could not be successfully revived.

Following the concerns, the organised private sector advised NNPC to sell the refineries rather than retain them as financial liabilities.

Ojulari, however, rejected the suggestion, insisting that the refineries would return to operation.

Nigerians, meanwhile, continue to watch closely to see the future of the facilities under the current NNPC leadership.