The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has officially confirmed that it is engaged in high-level discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the potential acquisition and comprehensive revival of the long-troubled Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State.
Boosting Local Capacity and Stabilising Prices
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Trust newspaper, the National President of PETROAN, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, revealed that the primary objective of this bold move is to significantly enhance Nigeria's domestic refining capacity. He stressed that this initiative is also designed to fortify indigenous participation across the entire oil and gas value chain.
Dr. Gillis-Harry stated that successfully reviving the Port Harcourt Refinery would be instrumental in stabilising the often-volatile prices of petroleum products across the country. He further explained that such a development would stimulate wider economic activities and is fully aligned with the economic revitalisation goals of President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda.
Securing Investment and Addressing Past Failures
The PETROAN president disclosed that the association is already in talks with potential co-investors from Ukraine and Georgia, who have shown a firm readiness to back the project and ensure tangible value addition to the Nigerian economy. He provided a crucial financial estimate, noting that approximately $2 billion would be required to kick-start the refinery's rehabilitation process.
Dr. Gillis-Harry expressed strong confidence in the feasibility of restoring the refinery to full operational status, emphasising PETROAN's ambition to play a transformative role in Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector. He also reiterated the association's support for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, acknowledging it as a major contributor to value addition within the industry.
These discussions come against a backdrop of massive previous expenditures on refinery maintenance with little to show. PETROAN's own 2025 sector review highlighted that Nigeria has spent an estimated N11.35 trillion on the turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries over the past decade, with the facilities remaining largely non-functional. Approved contracts included $1.5 billion for the Port Harcourt Refinery and $1.48 billion for the Warri and Kaduna refineries combined.
A New Dawn for Nigeria's Downstream Sector?
PETROAN has called for forensic audits and stronger accountability frameworks to restore public confidence, following investigations by security and legislative bodies into allegations of mismanagement related to these past expenditures.
The association noted that 2025 was a pivotal year for Nigeria's downstream oil sector, shaped by regulatory reforms and growing competition. It was revealed that more than 30 refinery licences, mostly for modular projects, have been issued since the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force, with about 23 refineries currently under development. These projects are expected to add over 850,000 barrels per day to Nigeria's refining capacity once completed.
PETROAN also reviewed challenges with policies like the naira-for-crude scheme and pointed to the shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refinery in May 2025 as evidence of persistent structural issues. The association has consistently argued that stable crude oil supply to domestic refineries and predictable pricing policies are critical to lowering fuel prices in 2026, urging the government to address irregular crude allocation and pipeline vandalism.
