Nigeria’s state-owned refineries can still be restored to productive and profitable operations despite their age and years of underperformance, according to oil and gas expert Olabode Sowunmi, who says the biggest obstacle has not necessarily been technology but the way the facilities have been managed.

Sowunmi made the remarks while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s assurance that Nigeria’s state-owned refineries would return to operation after undergoing a comprehensive restructuring process. The President, who spoke in Abuja while receiving the national executive of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, did not provide a specific timeline for the restart of the facilities.

The refineries were shut down in February after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited disclosed that internal assessments showed they were operating at significant losses and destroying national value.

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According to Sowunmi, the age of the facilities should not automatically make them obsolete. He argued that refineries are fundamentally machines that can continue to function for decades when properly maintained, supplied with the necessary parts and managed efficiently.

“There are refineries that exist that are more than 100 years old,” he said, stressing that the technical possibility of restoring the facilities should not be in doubt.

He identified poor management, operational culture, inefficiency and the removal or “cannibalisation” of components as some of the factors that have undermined the performance of Nigeria’s refineries over the years.

Sowunmi explained that the facilities could technically operate but fail to generate profits when the human and management elements surrounding their operations are dysfunctional. In his view, addressing those issues is central to making the refineries productive again.

He also dismissed concerns that older refinery technology would necessarily prevent the plants from competing with newer facilities, arguing that the fundamental scientific principles governing refining have not changed simply because newer technologies have emerged.

According to him, appropriate technological improvements can be incorporated into older facilities without necessarily requiring them to be scrapped. He cited the existence of refineries that have operated for more than a century as evidence that age alone should not determine whether a refinery remains viable.

While acknowledging the importance of the Dangote Refinery and its contribution to Nigeria’s refining landscape, Sowunmi said there was still value in ensuring that the state-owned refineries function effectively.

“We thank God for Dangote. We celebrate it. He has put us on a new map,” he said, while maintaining that the successful operation of the NNPC refineries would also benefit the country.

On how Nigerians can determine whether the latest intervention is working, Sowunmi said meaningful performance indicators would only become relevant once the rehabilitation process has been completed and the refineries resume operations.

He noted that the technical audit currently being undertaken by the prospective technical partners would be crucial because it would establish the condition of the facilities, identify what is working and what needs to be repaired, and provide a roadmap for the rehabilitation process.

Sowunmi described the decision by the partners to undertake a comprehensive audit at their own cost as an indication of seriousness and commitment. He said the financial resources required for such an exercise run into millions of dollars and should therefore be viewed as a positive signal.

Rather than assuming that the state-owned refineries must be scrapped, he urged Nigerians to give the technical partners an opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved through proper assessment, maintenance and management.

He argued that successful rehabilitation could generate employment, strengthen the petroleum value chain and increase the availability of refined products across the country.

However, Sowunmi said the technical rehabilitation of the facilities would not be enough without a fundamental change in the culture surrounding government-owned assets.

He identified the perception that government property belongs to nobody as one of the deeper problems affecting public infrastructure, including the refineries.

“As modern and as different as NNPC is, it is still government,” he said, arguing that the mentality that government business is nobody’s business has contributed significantly to the deterioration of public assets.

For him, protecting the refineries requires more than increased physical security. The people responsible for operating and managing the facilities must develop a sense of ownership and understand the long-term national consequences of allowing public assets to deteriorate.

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“We must begin with an overhaul in our culture, in our thinking, in our corporate outlook that these are national assets that must not go to waste,” Sowunmi said.

He argued that the refineries should be viewed as assets capable of improving livelihoods, creating employment and contributing to national economic development, rather than simply as government facilities.

On transparency and public spending, Sowunmi said existing government financial controls should continue to apply to refinery rehabilitation, while greater information should be made available to Nigerians.

However, he cautioned against demanding complete disclosure of every aspect of the facilities’ operations, noting that commercial businesses must retain some information to remain competitive.

For Sowunmi, the ultimate test of the rehabilitation programme is not how much information is released, but whether the refineries eventually become functional, productive and financially sustainable.

“If the refinery starts to produce and it produces at a price that is making everybody smile and is available and is spread across Nigeria, there will be less interest in its finances,” he said.

He stressed that transparency and commercial confidentiality would need to be balanced, but maintained that the central objective should remain clear: to restore Nigeria’s refineries to sustainable production, ensure they add value to the economy and prevent the country’s national assets from becoming stranded investments.