The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese firms to rehabilitate and expand the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, marking a shift toward technical equity partnerships instead of the previous contracting model.
The move comes as Nigeria continues efforts to boost domestic refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported refined products. Both refineries have operated below capacity for years, with the Port Harcourt refinery and Warri refinery struggling with maintenance issues and aging infrastructure.
Under the new arrangement, the Chinese partners will work on restarting operations at both facilities while expanding their production capabilities. The technical equity partnership structure gives the Chinese firms a stake in the operations rather than simply contracting them to carry out repairs and upgrades.
NNPC has been pursuing multiple strategies to get the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries functioning again. The company has also been working on the Dangote Refinery, which began operations recently, as part of efforts to increase Nigeria's refining output and cut fuel import bills.
The Port Harcourt refinery, one of the country's oldest, has a nameplate capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, while Warri can handle 125,000 barrels per day. Together, they should produce about 185,000 barrels daily when running at full capacity, but both have fallen far short of these targets in recent years due to poor maintenance and technical problems.
NNPC will now work with the Chinese partners to develop detailed implementation plans for the rehabilitation work. The timeline for restarting both refineries and the specific investment amount from the Chinese firms were not immediately disclosed. Next steps include signing final agreements and commencing the technical assessments needed to determine the full scope of work required at each facility.
