NNPC Defends Chinese Partners for Port Harcourt, Warri Refinery Revamp
- September 30, 2026
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has defended its decision to select two Chinese companies as potential technical equity partners for the rehabilitation and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, saying the firms emerged after a nine-month global selection process.
NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari said the company considered more than 50 potential partners before narrowing the field to about 20 and eventually selecting Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd.
Ojulari said the selected companies were preferred because their proposed structure aligned with NNPC’s objective of establishing refineries that can operate sustainably rather than relying on repeated government-funded interventions.
“Most of the other companies we approached wanted us to provide them with equity or allow them to take over the refinery,” Ojulari said, adding that some sought agreements that would give them significant control of the facilities.
According to him, the Chinese companies demonstrated a willingness to invest their own resources and expertise while maintaining a long-term stake in the success of the refineries.
NNPC announced in May that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the two companies for a potential technical equity partnership covering the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. A final agreement has not yet been signed.
From contractors to equity partners
The proposed arrangement represents a shift in NNPC’s approach to refinery rehabilitation.
Ojulari has previously said NNPC’s earlier model placed too much emphasis on financing and engineering, procurement and construction contracts while giving insufficient attention to long-term operational capacity.
In February, he said the company was no longer looking simply for contractors to run its refineries but for experienced operators willing to take an equity stake and share responsibility for long-term performance.
The latest partnership process therefore seeks to connect the interests of the operators with the commercial performance of the refineries.
Ojulari said NNPC wanted to avoid a situation where contractors were paid to complete rehabilitation work and subsequently had little incentive to ensure that the facilities remained commercially viable.
NNPC says due diligence was conducted
The NNPC chief also sought to address concerns about the technical capacity and track record of the Chinese companies.
He said NNPC conducted independent due diligence and that he personally visited their facilities in China alongside members of the company’s team and board.
According to Ojulari, the companies operate a major petrochemical plant in China and have access to significant technical expertise. He also said one of the companies has a stake in a major Chinese refinery and board-level representation, providing access to additional industry expertise.
More than 30 officials from the Chinese companies have reportedly visited Nigeria to assess the refineries and spent months working on the project.
A new test for Nigeria’s refinery strategy
The partnership comes after years of unsuccessful attempts to return Nigeria’s state-owned refineries to sustained commercial operation.
Nigeria’s four major state-owned refineries have a combined installed capacity of about 445,000 barrels per day, comprising the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna facilities. Yet the plants have historically operated far below their potential despite substantial government expenditure on rehabilitation.
An ongoing EFCC investigation has also examined alleged financial irregularities surrounding previous refinery rehabilitation contracts, with the agency reporting recoveries of billions of naira and millions of dollars in connection with the probe. The investigation remains ongoing.
That history puts pressure on the latest NNPC strategy to demonstrate that refinery rehabilitation can translate into sustained production, commercial viability and reliable operations, rather than another cycle of expenditure followed by prolonged downtime.
