Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, has reportedly expressed his willingness to relinquish ownership of his multibillion-dollar oil refinery to the state-owned energy company, NNPC Limited, according to a report by Premium Times.<\/p>\n
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Dangote’s decision comes amidst a new dispute with one of the key equity partners in the refinery, intensifying a long-standing row with regulatory authorities in Nigeria. The refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was inaugurated last year after a decade of construction and an investment of $19 billion\u2014more than double the initial estimate. It aims to reduce Nigeria’s dependency on imported fuel and save up to 30% of the country’s foreign exchange expenditure on imports.<\/p>\n
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“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labeled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s OK. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way,” Dangote told PREMIUM TIMES in an exclusive interview on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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Dangote emphasized the potential of the refinery to address Nigeria’s long-standing fuel crisis, which dates back to the 1970s. He expressed frustration over perceived discomfort from certain quarters about his involvement in the project and reiterated his readiness to sell his stake to NNPC.<\/p>\n
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The refinery, set to commence its first petrol rollout to the Nigerian market in August, has been operating at just above half its capacity since refining operations began in January. This underperformance is partly due to difficulties in sourcing crude from international producers, who either demand high premiums or claim unavailability of the product.<\/p>\n
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The NNPC, once a strong ally of the refinery, has reportedly delivered only 6.9 million barrels of oil to the plant since last year, according to S&P Global Platts. Despite an agreement for a 20% equity participation, only 7.2% of this stake has been fully paid for by the deadline.<\/p>\n
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To compensate for the shortfall in feedstock, the refinery has turned to countries like Brazil and the US. “As you probably know, I am 67 years old, in less than three years, I will be 70. I need very little to live the rest of my life. I can’t take the refinery or any other property or asset to my grave. Everything I do is in the interest of my country,” Dangote stated.<\/p>\n
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Reflecting on the obstacles faced by his refinery, Dangote noted that his friends and associates had cautioned him about investing billions of dollars into the Nigerian economy due to policy inconsistencies and the influence of interest groups. “Four years ago, one of my very wealthy friends began to invest his money abroad. I disagreed with him and urged him to rethink his action in the interest of his country. He blamed his action on policy inconsistencies and shenanigans of interest groups. That friend has been taunting me in the past few days, saying he warned me and that he has been proven right,” Dangote recounted.<\/p>\n
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Despite these challenges, Dangote remains focused on ensuring the refinery benefits the country by producing high-quality products and creating jobs, even if it means stepping aside for the NNPC to take over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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