The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) generated a staggering ₦20.9 trillion between April and July 2025, according to its latest operational and financial reports. The development comes as petroleum marketers press the state-owned oil firm to expedite the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries amid mounting revenues.
Dealers under the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Monday urged NNPC to ensure the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries return to operation, stressing that this must be done with “zero tolerance for corruption.”
Data released by the company shows that in April, NNPC posted ₦5.9tn in revenue and remitted ₦4.23tn to the federation account in the first quarter. May revenue grew slightly to ₦6.01tn, while statutory payments from January to April rose to ₦5.58tn, with ₦1.35tn remitted in April alone.
By June, revenue dipped to ₦4.57tn, with ₦1.38tn remitted, raising total remittances for the first five months to ₦6.96tn. The June report also showed NNPC had remitted a cumulative ₦7.97tn to the federation account between January and June.
In July, revenue fell further to ₦4.41tn. Profit after tax plunged 79.6 per cent month-on-month—from ₦905bn in June to ₦185bn in July—despite a marginal rise in crude oil production from 1.68 million barrels per day to 1.7mbpd. Cumulatively, profit after tax stood at ₦2.89tn for April to July.
NNPC has yet to release its full-year 2024 financial report, though under former GCEO Mele Kyari, the company declared a ₦3.3tn net profit for 2023—its highest since inception, and a 28 per cent increase from ₦2.55tn in 2022.
The firm has recorded profits consistently since 2020, when it posted ₦287bn after decades of losses. That climbed to ₦674.1bn in 2021, ₦2.55tn in 2022, and ₦3.3tn in 2023. Analysts suggest the ₦2.89tn profit recorded between April and July this year may set the stage for an even stronger 2025 performance.
Despite its earnings, concerns linger over NNPC’s remittances and debt obligations. In June, the Federation Account Allocation Committee disclosed that the company owed the Federal Government ₦6.57tn as of May 2025. This included ₦3.89tn in unpaid royalties to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, ₦2.53tn in unpaid taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and ₦162.33bn in unremitted dividends.
Earlier this year, the World Bank criticised NNPC for remitting only half of the financial gains from subsidy removal, using the rest to settle past arrears. FAAC data showed that while gross revenues collected by Nigeria’s main revenue agencies rose sharply in 2024, NNPC was the only laggard, remitting just ₦600bn to FAAC compared to ₦1.1tn in 2023.
Amid soaring earnings, IPMAN has renewed calls for NNPC to fast-track refinery rehabilitation projects.
IPMAN’s Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said the Port Harcourt refinery is close to completion, with Area 5 reportedly 90–95 per cent ready. He urged NNPC to run the refineries directly before engaging technical partners, warning against privatisation.
“They should not privatise it. They should first of all start running it before they bring in technical partners who will oversee the management,” Ukadike told our correspondent.
He added that functional refineries would stabilise fuel supply and help curb exorbitant prices. “If there is prudence and zero corruption, I think we will do better,” he said.
With fresh leadership under Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari, who introduced the monthly report system, NNPC has promised greater transparency in its operations. However, questions remain over its capacity to balance record revenues, mounting liabilities, and the long-delayed refinery rehabilitation projects.
For many stakeholders, the firm’s ability to bring the refineries back on stream without mismanagement will serve as the true test of its transformation drive.
