Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to cease operations at Nigeria’s struggling Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.

He urged the company to instead shift focus toward acquiring a larger equity stake in the Dangote Refinery, a private sector-driven enterprise that is already making significant strides in boosting the country’s petroleum refining capacity.

Lokpobiri’s recommendation was made public during his speech at the ongoing Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria Summit in Lagos.

In his address, Lokpobiri, represented by Dangana Tende, Deputy Director of Upstream at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, stressed that the government is committed to fully implementing deregulation in the downstream sector of the oil industry.

He emphasized that NNPCL’s future should be tied to investment in private refineries, such as the Dangote Refinery, rather than operating outdated state-run refineries that have continuously failed to meet expectations.

He noted that “we urge the state oil company to take equity in the other upcoming refineries rather than focus on running state-owned ones.

The government will ensure that downstream deregulation is implemented 100 percent.”

This bold statement comes at a time when Nigeria’s four major refineries – Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri – have remained non-functional for nearly 24 years, despite significant financial injections for turnaround maintenance.

These facilities, with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, have yet to produce any substantial output in decades, making Nigeria reliant on imports for refined petroleum products.

Over the years, the NNPCL has repeatedly made promises to bring the Port Harcourt Refinery back online, setting several deadlines for the production of petroleum products.

However, none of these targets have been met, and the refinery continues to drain resources without delivering results.

This situation has heightened the need for a shift in strategy, which Lokpobiri has firmly advocated for.

Meanwhile, the Dangote Refinery has emerged as a game-changer for Nigeria’s oil industry.

With a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the facility began distributing Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) on September 15, 2024, with NNPCL acting as the sole off-taker.

This move is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel and stabilize the local market.

Currently, NNPCL holds only a 7.2 percent stake in the Dangote Refinery, a figure that Lokpobiri believes should be increased to reflect the government’s commitment to supporting private initiatives that contribute to national energy security.

He highlighted that investing more in the Dangote Refinery and other private refineries would be more beneficial for Nigeria’s future than continuing to pump resources into moribund state-run facilities.

The call to abandon the state-owned refineries has sparked conversations about the future of Nigeria’s oil industry, especially as the country moves towards full deregulation of the downstream sector.

Lokpobiri’s recommendation underscores the government’s intention to foster a competitive and efficient oil sector driven by private enterprise, as well as its determination to end the era of wasteful spending on refineries that offer little return on investment.