Warri, Kaduna, Port Harcourt Refineries Owe NNPC N8.3trn Amid N264bn in Fresh Loans

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said that debt from the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt Refineries to the company rose to N8.31 trillion at the end of 2025, even as it extended about N264.4 billion in fresh loans to the three plants during the year.

The disclosure was made in the company’s 2025 audited financial statements. They show that the Port Harcourt Refining Company owed N4.03 trillion, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company N2.31 trillion, and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company N1.97 trillion.

The combined balance was N8.67 trillion a year earlier, a fall of about N360 billion, or 4.2 per cent. The report does not say what drove the decline. The balances are recorded as funding of operations and represent accumulated amounts, not spending in 2025 alone.

Fresh loans

All the new loans were granted in 2025. The statements show none to the refineries in 2024.

Kaduna: NNPC granted N133.5 billion to finance invoice payments and tax obligations on its Quick Fix Maintenance project. N56 billion remained undrawn at year-end.

Warri: NNPC disbursed N104.8 billion to pay taxes on its Quick Fix Maintenance project. N226.9 billion remained undrawn.

Port Harcourt: NNPC disbursed N26.07 billion to settle invoices owed to NETCO-EMPRON under a nine-month operations and maintenance contract for the Area 5 plant.

The three loans total N264.4 billion. Loan balances at the end of 2025 stood at N29.6 billion for Port Harcourt, N77.6 billion for Kaduna and N113.3 billion for Warri, or N220.5 billion in all.

Wholly owned subsidiaries NNPC Limited owns 100 per cent of each refinery. It carries its investments in them at N1.07 trillion for Port Harcourt, N1.02 trillion for Kaduna and N637.8 billion for Warri.

In the Group’s consolidated accounts, transactions between the parent and its subsidiaries are netted off. The balances therefore appear only in the company-level disclosures. The statements do not carry separate accounts for the refineries, and their staff and operating costs are not broken out.

On 30 April 2026, after the year-end, NNPC signed memoranda of understanding with two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. The aim is a technical equity partnership to complete and operate the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. The Kaduna refinery is not part of the arrangement. The financial statements say the financial impact cannot yet be reliably estimated, as the agreements remain subject to negotiation and due diligence.

Speaking at NNPC head office in Abuja on Tuesday after the release of the results, the group chief executive officer Bayo Ojulari explained why the company picked the two firms. He said NNPC considered more than 50 potential partners, narrowed them to about 20, and took roughly nine months to reach this stage.

Ojulari said many of the other firms wanted NNPC to give them equity, or wanted to take over the refinery or secure significant control. He said the two Chinese companies were the only ones whose approach matched what NNPC wants: a partner that invests its own resources and expertise, not a contractor paid for a job. He added that no final agreement has been signed.

On concerns about the firms’ capacity and track record, Ojulari said NNPC carried out independent due diligence and that he visited their facilities in China. He said the group operates one of China’s largest petrochemical plants and holds a stake, with board representation, in a major Chinese refinery. He added that more than 30 of its officials had spent months in Nigeria assessing the plants.

He also cautioned against misleading reports about the refinery strategy, saying some people would be unhappy with a plan that closes off leakages.