By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 20 per cent stake of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited in Dangote Refinery has been cut down to 7.2 per cent.
This information was revealed by the owner of the oil facility located in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State, Mr Aliko Dangote, on Sunday.
While speaking with newsmen, who he invited for a tour of the refinery with the capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the business mogul explained that NNPC’s stake in the plant was trimmed because of the inability of the state-owned oil firm to pay the balance of its share of the pie.
The Dangote Refinery, which was commissioned in May 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, gulped almost $20 billion to build.
It has started production of some crude oil derivatives, including jet fuel and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel.
However, it has yet to commence the production of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol. This is the main product many Nigerians are expecting from the facility.
Dangote Refinery had promised to begin the supply of petrol to the local market this month, but this may be delayed till next month.
The oil refinery has struggled to get crude oil supply from Nigeria and has looked elsewhere for the commodity, including from the United States and now from Brazil.
Announcing to journalists today, Mr Dangote said, “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 per cent stake in the refinery.”
Recall that in 2021, NNPC said it was planning to raise $2.76 billion in the credit facility to purchase a 20 per cent stake in the private oil facility.
Its audited financial report for 2022 showed that it borrowed $1.3 billion to acquire the stake.