Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Refinery, has announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) no longer holds a 20% stake in the refinery. Instead, NNPC’s stake has been reduced to 7.2% due to the corporation’s failure to meet its financial obligations.
According to Dangote, NNPC was required to pay the balance of its share in June but has yet to fulfill this commitment. Despite borrowing $1.3 billion to acquire a 20% stake in the refinery, NNPC has only paid enough to secure a 7.2% stake.
The Dangote Refinery, a $19 billion project located in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and aims to become Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility. The refinery is expected to generate 9,500 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs, providing a significant economic boost to the region.
Once fully operational, the refinery will produce approximately 50 million liters of petrol and 15 million liters of diesel daily, equating to 10.4 million tonnes of petroleum products annually. The facility also includes a fertiliser plant that will utilize by-products from the refinery as raw materials, further enhancing its economic and environmental impact.