- Negotiation between Dangote Industries and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp ( NNPC) is in an advanced stage for acquisition of a 20% stake by NNPC in the 650,000 b/d Dangote oil refinery.
- A spokesman of the company revealed that the final agreement is expected before the refinery goes on stream.
Negotiation between Dangote Industries and the oil corporation owned by the Federal government of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corp ( NNPC) is in an advanced stage for acquisition of 20% stake by NNPC in the 650,000 b/d Dangote oil refinery.A spokesman of the company revealed that the final agreement is expected before the refinery goes on stream. He also added that such a participation by the government instills confidence for private investors to build refineries by ensuring that the risk associated with refinery business does not weigh solely on Dangote Industries.
The Dangote plant, located in the outskirts of Lagos is rated as Africa’s largest refinery and is expected to start commissioning early next year. Devakumar V.G. Edwin, an executive director at Dangote Industries, had earlier in a statement in March had said that overall progress of 90% has been completed, including design, engineering, and procurement. The construction work of around 70% has taken place. However, political observers are skeptical about the refinery going on stream by next year due to the delays caused by COVID-19. They estimate that the refinery may not go on stream until late 2022 or early 2023.
The Dangote refinery is critical for Nigeria to end its imports of gasoline, a major drain on the economy. The oil price crash and the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economy. The country imports around 1 million-1.25 million mt/month of gasoline due to inadequate domestic refining capacity. Though the company first announced the project in 2013, the start-up date of this refinery has been repeatedly delayed.
