Nigeria's NNPC Starts Due‑Diligence for Port Harcourt and Warri Refinery Partnerships

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has moved into the evaluation phase of a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with prospective private partners for the Port Harcourt and Warri oil refineries. NNPC Group CEO Bayo Ojulari said the due‑diligence process will be fully funded by the partners and will focus on technical and commercial viability, aiming to secure long‑term, profitable and self‑sustaining refinery operations. He emphasized that the MoU is a framework for collaboration, not a binding contract, and that the initiative seeks to deepen Nigeria’s downstream value chain by expanding petrochemical production and investing in gas‑based industries such as new methanol plants. The move follows public criticism over plans to hand over refinery operations after nearly $3 billion was spent on rehabilitation, with many Nigerians questioning the strategy.

The partnership model reflects a shift toward performance‑based arrangements intended to avoid short‑term fixes and ensure sustainable operations, while the partners bear the cost of the evaluation to keep the process data‑driven and objective.