NNPCL Loses 20% Share in Dangote Refinery Over Unpaid Balance

Due to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL)’s failure to pay the balance for its stake, it no longer owns a 20 percent share in the Dangote Refinery, FIJ has learned.

Aliko Dangote, the chief executive officer of the refinery, revealed this during a press briefing in Lagos State on Sunday, according to a report by The PUNCH.

According to Dangote, NNPCL was expected to pay the balance for their 20 percent stake by June but failed to fulfil the obligation. As a result, their ownership has been reduced to 7.2 percent.

“NNPCL no longer owns a 20 percent stake in the Dangote Refinery. They were meant to pay their balance in June but have yet to fulfil the obligations. Now, they only own a 7.2 percent stake in the refinery,” Dangote stated.

NNPCL had acquired a 20 percent stake in the Dangote Refinery in September 2021 for $2.76 billion. An initial $1 billion had been paid through a $1.036 billion funding from Lekki Refinery Funding Limited.

To finance the rest, NNPCL was supposed to provide a discount of $2.5 per barrel on 300,000 barrels of crude oil supplied to the refinery per day, and 100 percent of NNPC’s portion of any dividends declared by the refinery.

NNPCL confirmed its new stake in the refinery through a statement released on Sunday. Olufemi Soneye, a spokesperson for the company, said that NNPCL had communicated its decision to cap its stake in the Dangote Refinery to the group several months ago.

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“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. The decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago.”