PETROAN demands guaranteed crude oil supply before Port Harcourt, Warri restart

Nigeria's planned revival of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries faces a crucial test: ensuring a consistent crude oil supply. The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) insists on guaranteed feedstock before the plants can operate sustainably post-restart.

PETROAN's National President, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration to shift focus from commissioning ceremonies to measurable performance metrics like throughput and return on capital. The association also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to formalize its rehabilitation plans into binding agreements, complete with defined completion dates, throughput guarantees, and enforceable penalties for non-performance.

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The focus should shift from commissioning ceremonies to measurable performance, including throughput, availability, margins and return on capital.

This demand highlights Nigeria's ongoing struggle to translate its Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) into actual crude deliveries to local refineries. In the first quarter of 2026, only 28.5 million barrels of crude were delivered against an allocation of 61.9 million barrels, raising concerns about consistent supply at commercially viable prices. PETROAN stressed the need for firm implementation of the DCSO under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), coupled with transparent crude pricing and dependable evacuation infrastructure.

The association warned that without guaranteed feedstock, the rehabilitation of these refineries, which could restore approximately 335,000 barrels per day of capacity, might result in costly, non-operational assets. PETROAN also pointed out that the refineries' value extends beyond reducing fuel imports, offering geographical diversification, strengthening competition, and mitigating supply-chain risks. Nigeria's dependence on imported petrol has significantly decreased, with domestic refineries supplying about 76.7 percent of national petrol volumes in Q1 2026, a stark contrast to the N2.271 trillion spent on imports in Q1 2025.

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