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The Digest:

The Federal Government has announced it is open to selling the state-owned Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna refineries, a potential watershed moment aimed at boosting competition and ending decades of reliance on subsidized, underperforming national assets.

Key Points:
  • The consideration was announced by Presidential Energy Adviser Olu Verheijen.
  • She spoke at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
  • The move is framed as an effort to boost competition in the refining sector.
  • Verheijen stated the refineries have been sustained by now-removed subsidies.
  • The NNPC had already begun a technical review of the moribund plants.
  • An Initial Public Offering (IPO) for NNPC is seen as an "end destination."
  • The goal is a "more transparent and efficient" national oil company.
This potential divestment reveals a government navigating the storm of economic reform, where the choice is between continued state ownership of failing assets or a strategic retreat to catalyze private sector growth and efficiency.

Sources: The Cable, Bloomberg