Business
NNPC Justifies $1.5bn PH Refinery Rehab Cost
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has moved to justify the $1.5billion contract cost for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, saying a new one may cost up to $12billion to build.
A statement by the corporation, yesterday, said the scope of contract goes beyond just turn around maintenance of the refinery to entail replacement of key components of the plant.
Kyari described the approved rehabilitation contract of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity refinery as a worthy undertaking embarked upon after diligent consideration and in strict adherence to industry best standards.
He explained that in arriving at the decision to award the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract to Tecnimont SpA of Milan, Italy, after a competitive bidding process, the corporation observed an unprecedented level of transparency and due diligence which consists of a governance structure and tender process that included key independent external stakeholders.
He said: “We have people saying why not build a new one; why will you repair an old refinery with $1.5billion?
“The fact is available even by Google search, what it takes to build a refinery of this status today. It will be difficult for the country to build a new refinery as it will take four years for it to commence production.
“It is around $7billion and $12billion to construct a refinery of this nature (Port Harcourt refinery). This is the estimate you see in public space and there are things you do outside the construction battle-limits like the utilities that are never accounted for when estimates of this nature are done.
“Typically, there is an additional 25 per cent cost for construction battle-limits, so, when you say a refinery can be built at $7billion or even $10billion, also think of that 25 per cent”, he added.
He continued: “With today’s estimate, you cannot build a refinery at any cost below these amounts, that means that the option you have is to scrap this and build a new one, and we all know that we don’t have that resource.
“If we start a new refinery of this nature today, it can’t work in less than four years; therefore, it means we will continue to import petroleum products in the next four years or more”.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.