At a press conference on Sunday, Dangote revealed this and added that NNPC’s ownership had fallen to 7.2% as a result of the company’s inability to pay the outstanding share balance that was due in June. For $2.76 billion, the NNPC purchased a 20% stake in the $20 billion Dangote refinery.
“NNPC no longer owns a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote refinery. They were met to pay their balance in June, but have yet to fulfil the obligations. Now, they only own a 7.2% stake in the refinery,” Dangote stated.
Late on Sunday, the NNPC released a statement confirming the development. According to a corporate spokesperson, “NNPC Limited periodically assesses its investment portfolio to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic goals.”
“The decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago,” said Olufemi Soneye.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has energy problems because none of its state-owned refineries are now in use. The state-owned NNPC is the main importer of the necessary goods, and the nation is mostly dependent on imported refined petroleum products.
There are usually lines for fuel throughout the nation. Because of the decades-long epileptic electrical supply, the price of gasoline has tripled since the termination of subsidies in May 2023, adding to the misery of the inhabitants who power their cars and generators with gasoline.
One of Africa’s biggest industrialists, Dangote, started producing 350,000 barrels per day at his $20 billion plant in Lagos last December. By year’s end, the refinery intends to reach its maximum capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. The refinery has started supplying the nation’s marketers with diesel and aviation fuel; the delivery of gasoline is scheduled to start in August.
Dangote had voiced his dissatisfaction over obtaining Nigerian crude for his plant. A Bloomberg report had it that the Lagos-based refinery bought about 24 million barrels of crude from the United States.
The NNPC had reportedly pledged Nigerian crude in a $3.3 billion oil-for-loan Afreximbank transaction, restricting its local crude supplies. Nigeria’s crude oil output grew to 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, considerably below the 1.7 million bpd target in the 2024 Budget.
Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), had stated in May that the Lagos-based refinery’s choice to import US crude might have been determined by its business plan.
However, Dangote said on Sunday that his refinery will begin producing gasoline in August 2024 after resolving its disagreements with the Federal Government and the NNPC about the supply of crude oil.
