By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Federal Government has suggested that it may put the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna up for sale, as part of ongoing efforts to reshape the country’s oil sector.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, made this known during a Bloomberg TV interview at an event in Abu Dhabi. She explained that government is open to different possibilities regarding the future of the facilities.
According to her, the option of selling the refineries remains on the table. “It’s one of the options that you have to consider if you find the right technical partner with the right capital,” Verheijen said.
She noted that the refineries had been kept afloat for years by government subsidies. “But now that we’ve removed the subsidies, we’ve removed the distortions in that market,” she added.
Verheijen stressed that the administration’s energy reforms aim to restore transparency and market efficiency, allowing the petroleum sector to operate strictly on commercial terms.