Dangote Offers to Sell Refinery to NNPC to Address Monopoly Concerns

In a significant development, Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group, has expressed his willingness to sell the Dangote Refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). Speaking in an exclusive interview with Premium Times on Sunday, Dangote stated that this move aims to address allegations of monopoly in the industry.

“If the NNPCL takes over the refinery, the allegations of monopoly would no longer be valid,” Dangote remarked. “Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s OK. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way.”

This announcement follows claims by Farouk Ahmed, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, who suggested that the Dangote refinery had requested to be the exclusive fuel supplier in Nigeria. Ahmed argued that relying solely on one refinery could jeopardize the nation’s energy security and market competition.

“We cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation, because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop importation of all petroleum products, especially AGO and direct all marketers to the refinery. That is not good for the nation in terms of energy security. And that is not good for the market, because of monopoly,” Ahmed stated.

Ahmed also raised concerns about the quality of products from the Dangote refinery, noting that its output, with sulphur levels between 650 to 1,200ppm, was inferior to the imported quality, which meets the West African requirement of 50ppm.

In response, Dangote acknowledged the challenges his refinery is facing, which he said validated the warnings of his friends and associates about the complexities of investing billions of dollars in the Nigerian economy. “As you probably know, I am 67 years old. In less than three years, I will be 70. I need very little to live the rest of my life. I can’t take the refinery or any other property or asset to my grave. Everything I do is in the interest of my country,” he said.

The Dangote Refinery, which began operations last year after a prolonged construction period, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Dangote emphasized that selling the refinery to NNPCL could help resolve Nigeria’s long-standing fuel crisis, provide high-quality products, and create jobs.

“This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery. At least the country will have high-quality products and create jobs,” he concluded.