NNPC Signs Refinery MoU with Chinese Firms

The NNPC (NNPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese firms, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, for a Technical Equity Partnership (TEP) to complete and operate the Nigeria — Port Harcourt and Warri Refinery. This initiative, signed in Jiaxing City, China, on April 30, 2026, aims to accelerate the rehabilitation of these long-delayed refineries, improve Nigeria's refining capacity, and reduce its heavy dependence on imported petroleum products. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, Group CEO of NNPC, emphasized a shift to a performance-driven partnership model, moving away from past failures in refinery rehabilitation. However, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension and public scrutiny of the deal, describing it as a 'risky and opaque gamble' that lacks transparency and technical credibility. He questioned the competence of the Chinese firms, stating that their expertise does not align with crude oil refining or managing complex refineries. Conversely, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), through its National President Salimon Akanni Oladiti, commended the agreement as a significant step but urged all parties to ensure transparency, accountability, and timely execution, highlighting Nigerians' fatigue with unfulfilled promises regarding refinery rehabilitation.