The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that Nigeria’s state-owned refineries may never function optimally unless the Federal Government ends decades of political interference and adopts a new ownership and management model.
Speaking at the 4th PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit 2025 in Abuja, the association’s President, Festus Osifo, stated that political meddling had consistently undermined efforts to revive the nation’s four refineries – Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna – despite billions of dollars invested in turnaround maintenance.
According to Osifo, Nigeria’s refineries have become “victims of politics” rather than productive energy assets.
He argued that the most sustainable way to revive the facilities is to adopt the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model, where the government holds minority shares while private sector investors with technical expertise and accountability manage operations.
“We have said this countless times: refineries will only work when politics is removed from their management.
Government must divest its majority stake, just as it did with NLNG, and let competent operators run these assets profitably,” Osifo said.
Nigeria has spent an estimated $18 billion over the past two decades on repeated attempts to rehabilitate its refineries, yet the plants have remained largely dormant.
The Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which briefly reopened in 2024 after partial repairs, were later shut down again for maintenance, raising doubts about the sustainability of government-led interventions.
Energy experts argue that this cycle of failed revamps underscores structural weaknesses in the management of the facilities.
Unlike private refineries such as the newly operational Dangote Refinery, government-owned plants suffer from poor accountability, procurement inefficiencies, and heavy political influence in appointments and contracts.
Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has remained dependent on imported petroleum products due to its moribund refineries.
This paradox has cost the economy billions in foreign exchange, worsened fuel scarcity, and placed enormous pressure on the naira.
Osifo noted that with over 37 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, Nigeria should be leading Africa in refining capacity.
At current production levels of just under 2 million barrels per day, the country has more than 50 years of oil reserves.
“Dubai was built on Abu Dhabi’s oil wealth. Nigeria has the same potential, but we are underproducing and mismanaging resources.
The refineries should be the foundation of our industrialisation,” he added.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, emphasised that reviving the sector goes beyond infrastructure.
He noted that the future of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry depends on building human capacity in engineering, safety, automation, and digital technologies.
Ogbe said every major oil and gas project in Nigeria must include a skills-transfer component to ensure long-term sustainability.
He also highlighted NCDMB’s ongoing investments in training and research to bridge technical gaps and reduce dependence on foreign expertise.
Industry stakeholders insist that the refineries’ revival is not only about ensuring local fuel supply but also about creating jobs, attracting foreign investment, and stabilising Nigeria’s economy.
Analysts say that adopting the NLNG ownership model, where the government retains minority control while private operators hold the majority, could finally break the cycle of mismanagement.
Until such structural reforms are implemented, Nigeria risks remaining trapped in an endless loop of fuel imports, subsidy debates, and wasted resources, despite its vast crude oil reserves.
For PENGASSAN and other industry players, the message is clear: without decisive action to end political interference, Nigeria’s refineries will remain symbols of squandered potential rather than engines of economic growth.
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