The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited ended 2025 with N8.31 trillion owed to it by the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, highlighting the scale of funding required to keep the long-troubled plants moving towards rehabilitation and commercial operations.
The exposure, disclosed in NNPC’s 2025 audited financial statements, came even as the national oil company extended another N264.4 billion in fresh loans to the three refineries during the year.
Port Harcourt Refining Company accounted for the largest balance at N4.03 trillion, followed by Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company with N2.31 trillion and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company with N1.97 trillion.
Combined refinery indebtedness, however, declined from N8.67 trillion at the end of 2024 to N8.31 trillion in 2025, representing a reduction of about N360 billion, or 4.2 percent.
The financial statements did not specify the factors behind the decline, while noting that the balances represent accumulated funding of refinery operations rather than expenditure incurred solely during 2025.
Another N264bn injected in 2025
The three facilities received no comparable loans from NNPC in 2024, according to the accounts.
Kaduna received N133.5 billion to finance invoice payments and tax obligations linked to its Quick Fix Maintenance project, although N56 billion remained undrawn at year-end.
Warri received N104.8 billion for tax payments associated with its own Quick Fix Maintenance project, with another N226.9 billion still undrawn at the end of the reporting period.
Port Harcourt received N26.07 billion to settle invoices owed to NETCO-EMPRON under a nine-month operations and maintenance contract for the Area 5 plant.
At year-end, outstanding loan balances stood at N113.3 billion for Warri, N77.6 billion for Kaduna and N29.6 billion for Port Harcourt, bringing the combined balance on the 2025 loans to N220.5 billion.
NNPC carries N2.73trn refinery investments
The funding exposure sits alongside substantial equity investments by NNPC in the three wholly owned subsidiaries.
The company carries its investment in Port Harcourt Refining Company at N1.07 trillion, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company at N1.02 trillion and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company at N637.8 billion.
Together, the investments amount to about N2.73 trillion.
Because NNPC owns 100 percent of the three refinery companies, transactions between the parent and subsidiaries are eliminated in the group consolidated accounts. The refinery-related funding balances therefore appear in NNPC’s company-level disclosures.
The growing financing burden comes as NNPC seeks to bring private technical and financial capacity into the rehabilitation and operation of two of the refineries.
On April 30, 2026, NNPC signed memoranda of understanding with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. for proposed technical equity partnerships involving the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. Kaduna is excluded from the arrangement.
NNPC said the proposed partnerships are intended to provide investment and technical expertise for completing and operating the two refineries. However, the financial impact cannot yet be reliably estimated because the agreements remain subject to negotiation and due diligence.
Speaking at NNPC’s head office in Abuja following the release of the financial results, Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari said the company had evaluated more than 50 potential partners before narrowing the field to about 20.
He said the selection process took roughly nine months and that many prospective partners sought equity positions, operational control or takeover arrangements that did not align with NNPC’s preferred structure.
According to Ojulari, the two Chinese companies were selected because they offered to invest their own resources and expertise rather than operate as contractors paid by NNPC.
“No final agreement has been signed,” he said.
Ojulari also defended the capacity and track record of the proposed partners, saying NNPC had conducted independent due diligence and that he personally visited their facilities in China.
He said one of the firms operates a major Chinese petrochemical plant and has a stake, alongside board representation, in a major Chinese refinery. More than 30 representatives of the companies had also spent months in Nigeria assessing the refineries, he stated.
Ojulari also warned against what he described as misleading reports about the refinery strategy, saying some interests could be opposed to measures intended to close leakages.
