NNPC Signs MoU with Chinese Firms to Restart Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Chinese industrial firms to rehabilitate, restart, and expand the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries — two facilities that consumed over $2.39 billion (more than N3.2 trillion) in unsuccessful turnaround maintenance under previous administrations.

The MoU was executed by NNPC Group CEO Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari alongside Guan Jianzhong, Chairman of Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited, and Bill Bi, Chairman of Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, in Jiaxing City, China, last Thursday.

The agreement establishes the framework for a Technical Equity Partnership covering the completion of outstanding work at both refineries, their ongoing operation and maintenance, and planned expansion to upgrade both facilities to cleaner and more profitable product standards. The potential collaboration also extends to petrochemical capacity and gas-based downstream opportunities.

“All parties recognise mutually beneficial opportunities for the development and long-term sustainable profitability of NNPC’s refining assets in Nigeria, and the collective weight required for success,” Ojulari said.

The NNPC statement described the MoU as a significant milestone following more than six months of technical and management engagement between the three parties.

The Port Harcourt refinery, which had a combined processing capacity of 210,000 barrels per stream day, was declared operational in November 2024 but was shut down again in May 2025 amid controversy over actual output. The Warri refinery — with a capacity of 125,000 barrels per stream day — has remained largely comatose despite the rehabilitation expenditure.

The statement did not specify the financial terms of the new arrangement, saying only that any definitive agreements would follow “in due course and subject to customary approvals.”

The Chinese partnership represents a significant strategic pivot. Previous rehabilitation contracts were awarded to European firms — Saipem SPA for Warri and Kaduna — and delivered limited results at massive public expense. Bringing in Chinese technical equity partners shifts not just the approach but the risk structure, as technical equity partners typically have a financial stake in operational outcomes.

With Dangote Refinery now dominating local supply and pricing, the revival of the government-owned refineries would add competitive pressure to the downstream sector — and potentially give the state a stronger hand in fuel pricing disputes.

Sources: NNPC Press Release, Daily Trust, ThisDay, Legit.ng