Buy me out and run Dangote Refinery the way you want – Aliko Dangote to NNPCL
Africa’s wealthiest man and Founder of the Dangote Group of Companies, Aliko Dangote has revealed, in frustration, that he is willing to give up ownership of his multibillion-dollar oil refinery to the state-owned energy company, NNPC Limited (NNPCL).
This comes after a fresh dispute with a key equity partner in the plant, in the latest phase of an ugly row with Nigeria’s regulatory authorities.
The refinery, which produces on average 650,000 barrels per day, came to life last year after a decade of prolonged construction.
The refinery cost a whopping $19 billion, more than double what Dangote initially expected to use in building it, promising to help wean Africa’s biggest oil producer off its reliance on fuel from overseas and save up 30% of the total foreign exchange spent on importing goods.
“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled 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 said in an exclusive interview on Sunday, July 21.
“We have been facing fuel crisis since the 70s. This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery.”
The billionaire’s big bet on oil and gas, which he ventured into following years of relatively stress-free dominance of Nigeria’s cement, salt and sugar industries, is turning out to be more problematic than he envisaged in its early days.
Set for its first roll-out of petrol to the Nigerian market in August, the mammoth plant has been operating just above half its capacity since the January start of refining operations, constrained in part by difficulties in sourcing crude from international producers.
Dangote Refinery said those companies are either demanding outrageous premiums before agreeing to supply crude or simply claiming the product is unavailable.
NNPC, once a sweetheart of the refiner before the current dispute, had only delivered 6.9 million barrels of oil to the plant as of May since last year, according to S&P Global Platts, a tracker of supply data.
