Ojulari says private refinery gave Nigeria “breathing space” as NNPC reviews future of government-owned refineries…..
Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has asked Nigerians to thank God for the Dangote refinery, saying it provided a “breathing space” when state-owned refineries were shut down.
Ojulari made the remarks on Wednesday at the Nigerian International Energy Summit 2026.
On September 3, 2024, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, announced the start of petrol production at the Dangote refinery, following the earlier commencement of diesel and aviation fuel output eight months before.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company was shut in May 2025 for maintenance after operating for about ten months. The Warri and Kaduna refineries were subsequently closed to allow for repair works.
Speaking at the summit, Ojulari said NNPC faced heavy pressure as the supplier of last resort to maintain fuel supply, but the Dangote refinery helped ease the situation.
“Thank God for Dangote refinery. Whether you love Dangote or you hate him, say whatever you want to say. And thank God he’s a Nigerian; he’s not someone from another continent or another planet,” Ojulari said.
He noted that while the Dangote refinery does not fully meet Nigeria’s fuel demand, it provided critical support during the shutdown of government-owned refineries.
“Yes, it may not meet our full needs, but it gives us breathing space. And luckily, we are shareholders in that refinery as well,” he said.
“So we said, what’s the hurry? We have a refinery that is working. It’s not owned by NNPC, but it’s built in Nigeria, working in Nigeria.”
Ojulari said NNPC chose to collaborate with the Dangote refinery while continuing to fulfil its responsibility as supplier of last resort under the Petroleum Industry Act.
“Dangote is not the supplier of last resort by the Petroleum Industry Act. So our responsibility is whatever we do, we have to ensure that that is held in competition as well,” he said.
“So once we secured that part, we were a little bit more relaxed to ensure that we found out what was going on around the Port Harcourt refinery.”
Following a two-month review, Ojulari said NNPC concluded that continuing the existing rehabilitation approach would amount to “value destruction for the next 30 years”.
He said the company subsequently halted the revamp of the state-owned refineries to undertake a comprehensive review.
In July 2025, Ojulari disclosed that NNPC was considering selling the refineries, citing increasing complexity in reviving the facilities.
He later announced plans for NNPC to partner with private refinery operators to repair the state-owned assets, adding that agreements are expected to be finalised by mid-2026.
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