Nigeria’s much-publicized effort to revive its three state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna has collapsed despite the government spending more than $3bn on rehabilitation contracts. A fresh investigation by Sunday PUNCH revealed that the facilities are in decay, with staff largely idle, production stalled, and the massive investments now under scrutiny by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Port Harcourt Refining Company, once the flagship of Nigeria’s downstream sector with a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day, briefly resumed partial operations in late 2024. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had boasted of producing millions of litres of diesel, petrol, and kerosene. However, operations were abruptly shut down by May 2025 under the guise of “routine maintenance.” Since then, visits to the facility confirmed inactivity, with only diesel from old stock being distributed and workers carrying out mere administrative duties. Marketers in the region accused the government of misleading Nigerians with false promises of revival.
The Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, which was re-commissioned in December 2024 after years of dormancy, also tells a story of false hope. Despite projections that it would run at 60 percent capacity, the refinery quickly ground to a halt. During Sunday PUNCH’s visit, the once-bustling complex appeared deserted, with only staff attending to office routines. Local sources disclosed that no actual production was ongoing, and tanker parks that once moved petroleum products across the country now lie empty.
Kaduna Refinery, commissioned in 1980 to serve Northern Nigeria, has suffered the worst fate. For years it has been in perpetual shutdown despite contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for turnaround maintenance. In 2023, a $740.6m “quick-fix” contract was signed with the promise of restoring operations to 60 percent capacity by December 2024, but no progress has been made. Residents of nearby communities described the plant as abandoned, noting that the bustling economic activity it once generated has disappeared. Shops, small businesses, and housing that thrived on the refinery’s workforce have collapsed, leaving locals frustrated and impoverished.
The financial mismanagement tied to these refineries is now at the center of EFCC investigations. Several former managing directors and NNPCL executives have been questioned over the handling of the $3bn rehabilitation contracts. Critics argue that Nigeria’s reliance on importing refined fuel, despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, is the direct result of decades of corruption, mismanagement, and false promises surrounding the refineries.
For decades, successive governments have pledged to restore the facilities, but every rehabilitation attempt has ended in failure. The consequences are dire: billions of naira wasted, near-total dependence on imported fuel, inflated costs of petroleum products, and continued pressure on the economy. The refineries, once symbols of national pride, are now a stark reminder of Nigeria’s struggle with mismanagement of its oil wealth.
Despite the clear failures, the NNPCL insists it is “committed to restoring full operations” and claims that technical and commercial reviews are ongoing for all three refineries. However, after decades of unfulfilled promises, Nigerians remain skeptical. For communities surrounding the facilities, the story is not only about wasted billions but also about livelihoods destroyed and hopes deferred.
