 has issued a firm deadline for the privatization of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, urging that the process be completed){kind=link}
ABUJA — Pressure is mounting on the Federal Government as the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has issued a firm deadline for the privatization of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, urging that the process be completed transparently by the first quarter of 2026.
In a strongly worded statement, PETROAN National President Billy Gillis-Harry described decades of public spending on the refineries as a monumental failure, arguing that government ownership has delivered neither efficiency nor commercial value.
“Sustained public funding of the refineries has failed to deliver optimal results over the years. Private sector-led management is now inevitable if Nigeria is serious about energy security and downstream stability,” Gillis-Harry declared.
PETROAN warned that continued state control of the refineries—managed by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)—amounts to fiscal waste at a time when Nigeria faces mounting economic and security pressures.
According to the association, privatization is no longer optional but urgent, promising wide-ranging gains including:
Higher efficiency through modern technical expertise
Fresh private capital and new investments
Reduced fuel imports and pressure on foreign exchange
More stable fuel supply nationwide
Job creation across the downstream value chain
Redirecting public funds to security and infrastructure
Tied to 2026 Budget Assumptions
PETROAN linked its demand to the 2026 national budget framework, which projects crude oil production at 1.84 million barrels per day and an oil price benchmark of $64–65 per barrel. The group argued that without refinery reform, these targets risk remaining paper assumptions.
It stressed that privatization, stronger oil infrastructure security, proper host community engagement under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and well-funded regulators would significantly boost investor confidence.
Growing Rift Over NNPCL’s Position
The call intensifies debate within Nigeria’s oil sector, coming amid NNPCL’s resistance to full privatization, particularly its insistence on retaining and rehabilitating the Port Harcourt refinery as recently as mid-2025.
But PETROAN insists the era of endless turnaround maintenance must end.
“Privatization is now central to unlocking Nigeria’s oil and gas potential, ending the cycle of economic drain, and delivering a competitive downstream sector,” the association said.
As 2026 approaches, PETROAN’s message is blunt and unmistakable: Sell the refineries, stop the bleeding, and let the private sector do what government has failed to do for decades.
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