Oil marketers accuse Ojulari of deliberately shutting down PH refinery to favour private companies

Hoscom Bulk Petroleum Retailers of Port Harcourt Refinery has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited of deliberately shutting down the facility to favour private refineries.

On August 28, Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the NNPC, said the company was losing about N500 million monthly on the Port Harcourt refinery.

He said the company, therefore, decided to halt rehabilitation at the refinery, adding that “we’ve been working assiduously to quickly find a way”.

In a statement on Friday, Hoscom expressed concerns over the GCEO’s statement.

“This statement has vindicated stakeholders in the oil and gas sector who earlier suspected that the GCEO of NNPCL was working in favor of a private refinery at the expense of the nation-owned refinery,” the group said.

“The alleged efforts to give an edge to a private refinery have raised concerns among stakeholders.

Hoscom Ojulari’s decision to shut down the refinery “was intentional”, and his claim that it was for “routine maintenance” or “sustainability assessment” has been disputed.

“It is now apparent that this was a deliberate tactic to give an advantage to its rivals, leading to superior performance and price exploitation against Nigerians,” the group said.

“Ojulari’s actions and decisions seem to prioritize the interests of a private refinery over the public refineries, including the Port Harcourt Refinery.

“They claim that the refinery was shut down despite spending billions of dollars on its revamp, which could have been allowed to continue running while the review process was ongoing.”

The association emphasised that state-owned refineries serve as a price check mechanism against private refineries.

“By shutting down their own refineries, NNPCL is essentially removing a crucial check on prices, allowing private refineries to dictate the market,” the group said.

“This move undermines the purpose of having state-owned refineries and gives undue advantage to private entities.”

The association also criticised the NNPC for “proudly stating” their reliance on equity stake in Dangote refinery “while shutting down their own refineries”.

“NNPCL should be ashamed to proudly state their reliance on the equity stake in a private refinery while shutting down their own,” the group said.

“Notably, NNPCL’s stake in Dangote Refinery stands at 7.2%, contrary to the initially agreed 20%, due to non-payment of the balance.

“Nigerians are disappointed that the refinery was shut down by GCEO despite spending $1.5 billion on its rehabilitation.”

Hoscom said it supports PENGASSAN’s call for the rehabilitation of the four Nigerian refineries.

The association urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action to make the refineries functional, thereby boosting the gross domestic product (GDP) and creating jobs.