Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association (PETROAN) on Monday expressed concern over prolonged delays in the rehabilitation of three key state-owned refineries, urging authorities to provide clear timelines and ensure accountability in the projects’ delivery.
Despite repeated assurances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the 210,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery, along with the Warri and Kaduna refineries, continue to face delays, the association said in a statement.
PETROAN welcomed the re-commissioning of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery but stressed the urgent need for transparency and progress on the larger Port Harcourt plant, as well as the Warri and Kaduna facilities.
The group called on NNPC to provide a realistic and detailed schedule for the completion of the second Port Harcourt Refinery, which it said is vital to reducing transportation costs for fuel in Nigeria’s System 2E region, covering about 13 states.
“The current cost of transporting petroleum products from Lagos to System 2E areas is exorbitant and continues to affect affordability,” the statement said. “Nigerians want to know exactly when these refineries will be ready.”
PETROAN urged authorities to enforce adherence to project timelines and maintain consistent communication with stakeholders regarding progress.
Amid growing concerns over the economic impact of the delays, the group appealed to President Bola Tinubu to set up a high-level intervention panel comprising stakeholders from industry regulators and labour unions to address bottlenecks and drive the projects to completion.
Speaking in Abuja, PETROAN President Billy Gillis-Harry said the operationalisation of the 210,000 bpd refinery in Alesa Eleme, the 125,000 bpd Warri refinery, and the 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery would help stabilise fuel prices and strengthen domestic supply.
“The continued delay is unacceptable,” he said. “Nigerians deserve to know when these critical assets will come on stream. The billions borrowed for these projects must be accounted for.”
The association commended Tinubu’s appointment of Bayo Ojulari as NNPC’s Group CEO and urged him to treat the position as a call to national service. PETROAN also raised concern over the vacancy in the office of the Port Harcourt Refinery managing director, which it said may be hindering progress.
“The timely appointment of a substantive managing director is essential to provide the leadership needed to move the project forward,” the group said. “The prolonged delay undermines efforts to achieve energy self-sufficiency and worsens economic hardship.”
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, has struggled for years to make its ageing refineries operational, forcing it to rely heavily on imported fuel despite vast crude reserves.
