NNPCL Signs MoU With Chinese Firms For Port Harcourt, Warri Refineries

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Chinese companies for a potential Technical Equity Partnership to support the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

The agreement was signed with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Ltd.

In a statement issued on Monday, May 4, 2026, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Andy Odeh, said the MoU was signed in Jiaxing City, China, on Thursday, April 30, 2026.

According to the statement, the MoU was signed by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari; Chairman of Sanjiang Chemical Company, Guan Jianzhong, Chairman of Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, Bill Bi.

Odeh quoted Ojulari as saying the signing of the MoU was a major milestone after more than six months of discussions between the technical and management teams of NNPCL and the Chinese firms.

Ojulari said the engagement was aimed at identifying partners that could support the restart, expansion and long-term profitability of NNPCL’s refining assets.

“All parties recognise mutually beneficial opportunities for the development and long-term sustainable profitability of NNPC’s refining assets in Nigeria, and the collective weight required for success,” Ojulari said.

The NNPCL boss further explained that the agreement was part of the company’s search for potential technical equity partners for its refinery assets.

Ojulari said the MoU marked an important step in the company’s efforts to restart and expand its refineries.

He added that the partnership would also explore opportunities in co-located petrochemical projects and gas-based industries.

According to him, the agreement is expected to open fresh technical and commercial conversations on how to make the refineries operational and profitable in the long term.

The statement, however, did not disclose how much Nigeria would spend under the new arrangement or whether the Chinese firms would provide financing, technical support, equity investment or operational management.

The latest agreement comes after the Federal Government had spent billions of dollars on previous rehabilitation efforts for Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.

Naija News understands that under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, about $2.39 billion was reportedly spent on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

In March 2021, the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

In August of the same year, the FEC also approved $1.48bn for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries.

The then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had said the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries would be handled by Messrs Saipem SPA and Saipem Contracting Limited at a combined cost of $1.484 billion.

Sylva had said $897,678,800 would be spent on the Warri refinery, while $586,902,256 would go into the Kaduna refinery project. He also noted that the rehabilitation would be carried out in three phases over a 77-month period.

The Port Harcourt refinery was said to have been completed, with production starting in November 2024.

However, the facility reportedly shut down about six months after the restart, raising fresh concerns over the sustainability of Nigeria’s refinery rehabilitation efforts.

The Warri refinery has also been central to the Federal Government’s repeated promises to restore domestic refining capacity and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.

With the new MoU, NNPCL is expected to seek a more sustainable operating model for the refineries through technical and equity participation.

The company said the latest engagement with the Chinese firms is aimed at supporting the completion, restart and long-term commercial viability of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.