Nigeria’s state-owned oil company plans to become a minority shareholder in its largest refinery after finishing refurbishments on it, according to Managing Director Mele Kyari.

The West African nation has approved a budget of $1.5 billion for revamping the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.’s refinery in Port Harcourt in the southern part of the country It, along with NNPC’s three other refinery complexes, has been shut down pending repairs. When operational, they have a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels a day.

NNPC will gradually step away from operating the Port Harcourt refinery after putting it back on track, Kyari said in an interview with local TV station Channels late Monday.

“We bring in the private sector to take equity in this refinery and then we continue to grow that business from that perspective,” he said.

Africa’s largest crude producer currently imports all of its refined product needs.

Bloomberg