By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has replied Aliko Dangote, over his statement that the NNPC’s equity in the Dangote over $20bn refinery is now 7.5 per cent as against 20 per cent being widely believed.
A statement by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Femi Soneye, on Sunday, said its decision to reduce its investment in the refinery was well thought out.
It said, “Several months ago, we made a commercial decision to cap our investment at the amount already paid. This decision was taken by NNPC Ltd and has no impact on our business.”
“NNPC Limited periodically assesses its investment portfolio to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic goals,” said a spokesman for the company.
“The decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago,
Dangote had on Sunday, said NNPCL no longer owns a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Speaking during a press briefing at the refinery on Sunday, Dangote said NNPCL now owns 7.2 per cent of the refinery over failure to pay the balance of their share, which was due in June.
According to Aliko Dangote, NNPC’s stake dropped to 7.2 per cent over the company’s failure to pay the balance of its share, which was due in June. The 20 per cent interest in the $20bn Dangote refinery is valued at $2.76 billion.
“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 said
Last December, Dangote commenced operations at his $20bn facility in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country while petrol supply is expected to commence in August.
The controversy comes as Nigerians have hoped the start of Premium Motor Spirit or petrol refining at the facility, would help Nigeria cut down on petrol importation, thereby reducing the local price of the product.
However, Dangote had expressed frustration about getting Nigerian crude for his facility. A Bloomberg report said the Lagos-based refinery bought about 24 million barrels of crude from the United States.
While responding to the importation of crude oil by Dangote, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had in May, said the decision by the Lagos-based refinery to import US crude could be based on its business model.
However, Dangote disclosed on Sunday, that his refinery would roll out petrol from August 2024, having resolved its crude oil supply issues with the NNPCL and the Federal Government.