‘I’m ready to let go’: Dangote offers to sell refinery to NNPCL

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has declared his readiness to sell the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Dangote alleged that some individuals who were not happy with the completion of the refinery labelled him a monopolist, noting that he is willing to give up ownership of the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery to the NNPCL.

The Star recalls that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) recently alleged that Dangote refinery and other modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel produced diesel with sulphur content ranging from 650 to 1200 ppm – a statement criticised by many Nigerians as a tactic to favour imported products over local ones.

“In terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as West Africa’s requirement of 50 parts per million.

“Dangote refinery as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery produce between 650 ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much more inferior to the imported quality,” the NMDPRA Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed, said while speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

Reacting during a tour of the refinery by members of the House of Representatives on Saturday, July 20, Dangote said the company’s refined fuel is of superior quality compared to imported equivalents and meets international standards.

Dangote refinery counters NMDPRA: Our fuel meets int’l standard

However, Africa’s richest person, in an interview with Premium Times on Sunday, said: “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 fine. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way.

“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 refinery also alleged that its operations were being scuttled by a lack of crude oil supply by International Oil Companies (IOCs).

“The trading arm of one of the IOCs refused to sell to us directly and asked us to find a middleman who will buy from them and then sell to us at a margin. We dialogued with them for nine months and in the end, we had to escalate to NUPRC who helped resolve the situation,” the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin, said in a statement issued on July 17.

The NMDPRA later debunked the allegations, adding that the refinery is still at the pre-commissioning stage and has not yet been licensed.

The Star