Nigeria, Feb. 4 -- The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, has disclosed that they halted operations at the country's state-owned refineries after discovering that continued operation was destroying value and draining public resources, despite huge financial commitments.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on Wednesday, he said the company took the difficult decision to shut down the refineries temporarily after an internal review revealed monumental losses, low utilisation rates and the absence of a credible path to profitability.

"We were under extreme pressure. Nigerians were angry, a lot of money had been spen...