Aliko Dangote, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, has announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation now owns only a 7.2 percent stake in the refinery.
He stated that this figure has decreased from the original 20 percent.
Dangote stated this while briefing journalists in Lagos State on Sunday.
He stated, “NNPC no longer holds a 20% stake in the Dangote refinery. They were meant to pay their balance in June but have yet to fulfill the obligations. Now, they only hold a 7.2% stake in the refinery.”
At a one-day training program hosted by the Dangote Group on Friday, Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, accused International Oil Companies in Nigeria of planning to undermine the success of the new Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.
Edwin also criticized the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority for allegedly issuing licenses indiscriminately to marketers to import low-quality refined products into the country.
He pointed out that while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission was making efforts to allocate crude oil for the 650,000-capacity refinery, the IOCs were intentionally obstructing their attempts to purchase local crude oil.
He stated that this was done by raising the cost beyond market rates, compelling the refinery to import crude oil from countries as distant as the United States, resulting in increased expenses.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and crude oil producers in Nigeria have shown commitment to working towards a sustainable supply of crude oil to local refineries under a market-determined pricing system.
Both parties stated that the commitment aimed to make sure that while the operators (crude oil producers) do business optimally, the refineries are not starved of feedstock.
Accordingly, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has instructed oil refiners in the country to provide monthly price quotations for crude supply.
As contained in a report on Friday, the refinery is set to import a cargo of Brazilian crude, reported on Friday.
It stated this would add up to the large number of overseas barrels of crude feedstock that the Nigerian firm was importing.
