Aliko Dangote
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the company rejected attempts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to acquire additional shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, insisting that more Nigerians should have the opportunity to own part of the facility through a planned public listing.
Speaking during an interview with Nicolai Tangen monitored by NATIONAL ACCORD, Dangote said the refinery’s management deliberately declined the request because it intends to “spread it and have everybody be part of it.”
The billionaire businessman explained that although the original agreement allowed the NNPC to hold 20 per cent equity in the refinery, the state oil company only completed payment for 7.25 per cent before the deadline expired in June 2024.
“The agreement was actually 20 per cent, which we had with NNPC, and they did not pay the balance of the money up until last year; then we gave them another extension up until June (2024), and they said that they would remain where they had already paid, which is 7.2 per cent. So NNPC owns only 7.2 per cent, not 20 per cent,” Dangote stated.
He identified policy inconsistency and the threat of conflict as major risks confronting the refinery project, noting that unstable government decisions remain a serious concern for long-term investments in Nigeria.
Dangote also revealed that the refinery has surpassed its installed capacity by processing 661,000 barrels of crude oil per day, above its official 650,000 barrels-per-day nameplate output.
According to him, the refinery currently sources about 56 per cent of its crude supply from Nigeria, while additional volumes are imported from Angola, Libya and the United States to sustain operations.
The industrialist further disclosed that rising global tensions in the Middle East have unexpectedly boosted demand for the group’s products, with fertiliser prices jumping from $400 to $850 per tonne and polypropylene rising sharply in international markets.
“The effect of the war on our businesses is more beneficial than a downside because today, fertiliser is in very high demand,” Dangote said, adding that aviation fuel produced by the refinery has already been sold out until mid-July.
He also alleged that a powerful “Mafia” benefiting from Nigeria’s former fuel subsidy regime had tried to frustrate the refinery project, while announcing plans to attract new investors and expand operations with a target of generating $100 billion in revenue by 2030.
