The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, yesterday spoke on his findings on the state of the nation’s refineries when he received a delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), led by its President, Comrade Festus Osifo, at the NNPCL headquarters in Abuja.

He said: “When I resumed, one of the first priorities I focused on was the refinery. To quickly have a quick review to see whether we could quickly fix it. What I found is that we were losing between $300million to $500 million on a monthly basis in the overall refinery. We were pumping about 50,000 barrels of crude to go into the refinery. What was coming out was less than 40 per cent equivalent of what was coming in

“The first thing we then said,” he continued, “was rather than continue to lose, let’s quickly stop and look for a way to put this refinery into a sustainably profitable venture.”

Ojulari, who assumed office on April 2, this year, said the NNPCL was working to revive the moribund refineries to operate at full capacity by adopting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model which PENGASSAN has also advocated, adding that talks were ongoing to find a viable solution to the refining crisis, ensuring the refineries became a sustainably profitable venture.

He said that the national oil company had concluded a technical review for the three refineries, pointing out that the long neglect and lack of maintenance of the refineries, were the major reasons behind the huge losses recorded from the refineries on a monthly basis, despite the huge investments to make them work

The NNPCL chief, in his conversation with the Senior Staff arm of the oil sector union, said that a lot of money has been spent on these refineries, but however admitted that it’s been very challenging to translate those money into profitability.

He went philosophical, saying part of the reason is – when you have an old car, and you park the car for some time without any greasing and oiling. He added that the Port Harcourt refinery has been difficult to put back because of years of neglect and it’s been difficult when you fix one thing, the other thing is still there.

Turning to PENGASSAN, Ojulari said: “The solution you are proposing (the NLNG model) is the solution we are working on. We’ve now completed technical review of the three refineries, but it’s not just about technical. It’s also about commercial viability, It has to make money. Maybe not a lot, but it should not be making a loss.

“We’ve now completed the commercial review for the Port Harcourt refinery and from that commercial review, we have come to that conclusion that the best way forward is for us to get a true professional refinery company to join us and co-operate with us.

“We’ve been having meetings with potential parties, but we need to find the pathway that will work. We’ve also realised that it was not in the best interest of Nigeria, not in the best interest of NNPCL, that we will continue to put money into a place where we do not have the full ability to fully operationalise. So, when we bring in a true refinery, we can work with them.”

Ojulari, who did not elaborate on the term- ‘a true refinery,’ appealed to Nigerians, contractors, traders and beneficiaries to be patient with the shutdown of the refineries.

In the course of the briefing, the NNPCL chief said his team was facing attacks, but said he will not be deterred. “We are under attack. We will not budge to short-term pressure, as it will not be in the best interest of Nigerians. You cannot drive change without a price, and the transformation is tough,” Ojulari he said, adding that patience will be required from the Nigerian people at large to get to the other side of change, which will benefit Nigeria and her citizens.

He restated his commitment to stay focused in driving the mandate given to the team by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Tinubu did not put pressure on me to go and do the wrong thing. The baseline was to go and ensure that whatever we’re doing, going forward, sustainably works. There’s no need for us to pretend, there was no negative political pressure for NNPC to just continue to run at a loss, so we decided to freeze on it, and we’ve been working astutely fine.

“My commitment is that when this refinery is reworking, everybody will be back to work but for now, we all need to cooperate and work together to ensure that whatever we put in place is sustainable.”

Ojulari also declared that he is not a politician, saying that he will have to learn a bit more about politics. “I’m not hiding from anybody. I’m not a politician. I will have to learn a bit more about politics, but for me, it is a development plan, and I’m ready to learn.”

The NNPCL boss also raised concerns over threats to his life and those of some members of the company’s management, saying his major “offence” was the reforms he introduced in the oil and gas sector in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to revive the country’s ailing refineries. He said some powerful interests were plotting to unseat him, but insisted that he remained focused on ensuring the success of the refinery rehabilitation plan.

Earlier, President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo said the pipelines have been working optimally since Ojulari became the GCEO, leading to an increase in production.

He commended the management of NNPCL for moving beyond addressing the welfare of members.

While seeking answers to the reasons behind the shutdown of the refineries, Osifo noted that PENGASSAN was committed to supporting the NNPCL to stabilise the system which has been bedeviled with so many challenges including non-producing fields, to boost production to 2.6 million barrels per day next year.

Osifo said: “Managing institutions like this and trying to bring about change, we know that there are always ups and downs, which is expected in life. But at PENGASSAN, we assure you that we are solidly behind you, that we will work with you, we will collaborate with you and your team to ensure the stability of the system, because for us, when the system is not stabilised, it has a way of trickling down to our members.

“We will work with you to ensure that the system is stabilised and to ensure that NNPC continuously remains vibrant, the way it has been, and even to take it a notch higher, because today we are doing approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude.

“We believe that with a lot of capacities and experience that will be brought in, we’ll be able to bring about an improvement in our production,” Osifo said.

The tale surrounding the new development with the nation’s refineries, as painted by Ojulari, somewhat runs counter to that of his predecessor, Mele Kyari, who described the reopening of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company in November 2024, as a monumental achievement for Nigeria which signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for the country.

In a press release, Kyari said: ” The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. has fulfilled its pledge of re-streaming the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), signaling the commencement of crude oil processing from the plant and delivery of petroleum products into the market.

On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, according the NNPCl statement, trucks began loading petroleum products which include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), or diesel and Household Kerosene (HHK), or Kerosene, while other product slates will be dispatched as well.

Speaking during a brief ceremony to mark the commencement of products loading at the Refinery on that Tuesday in Port Harcourt, according the press statement, Kyari described the “commencement of the loadout activities as a monumental achievement for Nigeria which signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for the country.

Kyari also expressed deep appreciation to the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors and the entire staff for their support and commitment, which crystallized into the streaming of the refinery. He also commended the contractors for doing a great job in ensuring that the refinery is delivered despite all challenges.

Also, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), . Farouk Ahmed congratulated the NNPC Ltd for the milestone and assured of his agency’s continued support towards the completion of rehabilitation work at the other refineries.

The PHRC rehabilitation project, is an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning (EPCIC) project that is aimed at restoring the refinery to full functionality and renewal. It has achieved over 16 million manhours with zero Loss Time Injury (LTI), the statement said.

Ojulari briefing yesterday is coming barely nine months after the Port Harcourt Refinery was adjudged fit for production by Kyari.