The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has explained why NNPC selected two Chinese companies for a potential technical equity partnership aimed at completing, reviving and operating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
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Ojulari said the decision followed an extensive selection process lasting about nine months, during which NNPC considered more than 50 potential partners before narrowing the field to about 20 companies.
He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing journalists after the release of NNPC Limited’s 2025 financial results, responding to questions about why the national oil company chose Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd amid questions about their technical capacity and track record.
NNPC had in May announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the two Chinese companies for collaboration through a potential Technical Equity Partnership in support of the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. The official NNPC announcement said the proposed framework would cover completion of outstanding work, operation and maintenance of both refineries, planned upgrades, petrochemical expansion and gas-based industrial opportunities.
Ojulari said the selection was not made hastily and that NNPC examined a large number of alternatives before settling on the two firms.
“Before we settled on these companies, we considered more than 50 potential partners and eventually narrowed the list to about 20,” he said.
“It took us approximately nine months to reach this stage of the process.”
According to the NNPC boss, the selected companies distinguished themselves through what he described as credibility and greater alignment with the company’s strategy for achieving a commercially sustainable refinery operation.
Ojulari said many of the other companies approached during the process were seeking arrangements that would either require NNPC to provide equity to them or give them substantial control over the refineries.
“Most of the other companies we approached wanted us to provide them with equity or allow them to take over the refinery. Some wanted us to sign agreements that would give them significant control over the project,” he said.
He stressed, however, that the discussions with the two Chinese firms have not yet resulted in a final agreement.
“Although we have not yet signed a final agreement with them, they are the only ones that have demonstrated the level of alignment we are looking for,” Ojulari said.
“Our vision is to build something sustainable, with a partner that is prepared to invest its own resources and expertise in the project, rather than simply secure a contract for which we would pay it.”
The position is consistent with NNPC’s earlier explanation that it was moving away from a model focused primarily on financing and engineering, procurement and construction contracts towards an operating model built around financing, competent technical execution and world-class operational capacity.
Ojulari also responded to questions concerning the technical capacity of the selected companies, saying NNPC had carried out independent due diligence.
He disclosed that he personally travelled to China alongside members of the NNPC team and board to inspect the companies’ facilities and operations.
“We have conducted independent due diligence on the company. We know its specific address and location, and I personally visited its facilities. I saw its operations with my own eyes,” he said.
According to him, the companies are involved in operating a major petrochemical plant in China and have access to substantial technical expertise.
“These are people who operate one of the largest petrochemical plants in China, with significant production capacity,” he said.
“Petrochemical plants are even more complex than refineries, as those of us with engineering knowledge understand.”
Ojulari further said the company has an interest in one of China’s major refineries and enjoys board-level representation there, which, according to him, gives it access to technical expertise and industry talent.
He said the key objective was to secure a partner whose commercial interest would remain tied to the long-term success of the Nigerian refineries rather than simply engaging a contractor whose responsibility would terminate upon completion and payment.
Ojulari illustrated the distinction with an analogy.
“As I often say, it is like hiring a taxi driver to transport your luggage from your home to the market. Whether or not you eventually sell your goods at the market is not the driver’s concern. The driver’s responsibility is simply to get you there,” he said.
“That is the kind of arrangement we want to avoid. We need a partner that has a genuine stake in the success and sustainability of the refinery, rather than one whose involvement ends once it has been paid for its services.”
The NNPC boss also pushed back against criticisms and reports questioning the refinery strategy, warning that major reforms capable of blocking leakages and changing existing commercial interests would inevitably attract opposition.
“Let me first say this, as I have said before: when you embark on a strategy of this nature, there will always be people who are unhappy with your decisions,” he said.
“When you take steps to stop certain leakages in the system and protect Nigeria’s interests, some people will inevitably be disadvantaged.”
Ojulari added that some stakeholders whose interests could be affected by the proposed refinery strategy might attempt to discredit or frustrate the process.
“When you come up with a formidable and credible solution, you are inevitably going against the interests of certain people who may resort to different tactics to frustrate your efforts,” he said.
He urged Nigerians not to accept all criticisms or reports concerning the project without examining the facts behind them.
“So, please, let us not take all these comments and reports at face value,” he said.
Ojulari also referred to his own experience in the petroleum industry, saying his assessment of the Chinese firms was informed by more than three decades of professional involvement in the sector.
“You cannot have someone like me, who has spent 35 years in the industry, travel to China, return to Nigeria and tell Nigerians that the companies building refineries should be asked to leave,” he said.
He reiterated that NNPC had independently checked the firms rather than relying solely on representations made by the prospective partners.
“We have conducted independent due diligence on the company,” Ojulari said. “When people begin to circulate misleading information, we must make an effort to identify the sources and establish the facts.”
He further disclosed that more than 30 officials of the Chinese companies had visited Nigeria to assess the present condition of the refineries and spent months working on aspects of the project.
Ojulari nevertheless repeated that no definitive agreement had yet been concluded.
NNPC’s official announcement in May similarly described the arrangement as a potential Technical Equity Partnership and said definitive arrangements would only follow further discussions and customary approvals. The MoU was signed in Jiaxing City, China, on April 30 by Ojulari, Sanjiang Chemical Chairman Guan Jianzhong and Xinganchen Chairman Bill Bi.
The proposed partnership centres on the Port Harcourt Refining Company and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.
Nigeria has four state-owned refineries. The two Port Harcourt refineries have a combined installed capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, while the Warri refinery has an installed capacity of 125,000 barrels per day. The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company has a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, bringing the combined installed capacity of the four government refineries to about 445,000 barrels per day.
Despite substantial rehabilitation expenditure over the years, the state-owned refineries have struggled to operate consistently at commercial capacity.
The Warri refinery resumed limited operations in December 2024 but subsequently shut down amid operational and safety-related challenges, while NNPC later announced an outage at the Port Harcourt refinery as part of scheduled maintenance.
NNPC subsequently embarked on a broader technical and commercial reassessment of its refinery strategy, with the company saying that its objective was to establish a more sustainable and profitable operating model rather than repeatedly undertake rehabilitation programmes that did not deliver lasting commercial performance.
Ojulari had also previously said NNPC was pursuing partners with a proven track record in refining and petrochemical operations and wanted refinery solutions that would be sustainable, self-financing and profitable.
The April 30 MoU with Sanjiang Chemical and Xinganchen envisages not only completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri facilities but possible expansion of their petrochemical capacities and the development of co-located gas-based industrial hubs.
Ojulari’s latest explanation therefore presents NNPC’s choice of the Chinese companies as the outcome of a months-long competitive search rather than a conventional contractor appointment.
For now, however, the arrangement remains at the MoU and due-diligence stage, with Ojulari stressing that a final agreement has not yet been signed.
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