Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Group and owner of Dangote Refinery, has announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) no longer holds a 20 percent stake in the refinery.
During a press briefing at the refinery on Sunday, Dangote revealed that the NNPCL’s stake has decreased to 7.2 percent due to its failure to fulfill its financial obligations.
The African billionaire noted that the Nigerian oil company was supposed to pay the balance of their share in June but has not met this obligation. Consequently, NNPCL’s stake in the $20 billion refinery has been reduced.
“NNPC no longer owns a 20 percent stake in the Dangote refinery. They were meant to pay their balance in June but have yet to fulfil the obligations. Now, they only own a 7.2 percent stake in the refinery,” Dangote stated.
As of the time of filing this report, NNPCL has not responded to Dangote’s disclosure.
This development comes in the wake of a crude oil supply challenge that the Dangote refinery has faced due to high prices. The 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery had previously accused international oil companies of impeding its operations by selling crude oil at elevated prices. It was recently reported by Bloomberg that the refinery is expected to import crude from Brazil, having previously imported fuel from the United States.
Despite these challenges, the Dangote refinery has insisted that it will commence the supply of fuel in Nigeria by mid-July 2024.
