The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has asked Nigerians to thank God for the Dangote refinery, saying it provided a “breathing space” when state-owned refineries were shut down.
Ojulari spoke on Wednesday during the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026.
On September 3, 2024, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, officially announced the commencement of petrol production at his refinery — with diesel and aviation fuel production starting eight months earlier.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) was shut down in May 2025 for maintenance, after reopening for ten months.
The closure of the Warri and Kaduna refineries quickly followed to allow for repair work.
Speaking at the event, Ojulari said because NNPC was the supplier of last resort, there was significant pressure to ensure continuity of the state-owned refineries.
However, he said the Dangote refinery provided relief as it was functional during the period when NNPC decided to shut down its refineries.
“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.
The NNPC executive said the Dangote refinery provided relief, and “that gave us an opportunity because we have a refinery that is working”.
“Yes, it may not meet our full needs, but it gives us breathing space. And luckily, we are shareholders in that refinery as well,” Ojulari 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.”
He said the NNPC decided to collaborate with the refinery while continuing its role as the supplier of last resort.
“Dangote is not the supplier of last resort by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). So our responsibility is whatever we do, we have to ensure that that is held in competition as well,” the NNPC boss 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.”
After a two-month review, Ojulari said “we saw that it’s just one way”, which he described as a way of “value destruction for the next 30 years”.
Consequently, he said the NNPC decided to completely stop the revamp of the state-owned refineries and undertake a comprehensive review.
In July 2025, the GCEO said NNPC was considering the sale of the refineries, as revamping them was becoming a ‘bit more’ complicated.
He later announced the NNPC’s plans to partner with private refinery operators to repair the state assets, noting that “agreements will be finalised by mid-2026”.