Africa’s wealthiest man Aliko Dangote has expressed readiness to give up ownership of his multi billion-dollar oil refinery to the state-owned energy company NNPC Limited, should he get the offer to buy.
Dangote was reacting to the latest phase of a bitter row with regulatory authorities in Nigeria, most especially, a new dispute with one of the key equity partners in the plant heats up in
The 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery was completed last year after a decade of prolonged construction, gulped about $19 billion, doubling the initial estimate, with the promise to help wean Africa’s biggest oil producer off its reliance on fuel from overseas and save up 30 per cent of the total foreign exchange spent on importing goods.
The billionaire said, “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.
“We have been facing fuel crisis since the 70s. 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.”
But the multisectoral investor’s big bet on oil and gas, having ventured into following years of relatively stress-free dominance of Nigeria’s cement, salt and sugar industries, is already turning out problematic in its early days.
The mammoth plant, getting ready for its first roll-out of petrol to the Nigerian market in August, has been operating just above half its capacity since the January start of refining operations, constrained in part by difficulties in sourcing crude from international producers.
Dangote Refinery alleged that those companies are either demanding outrageous premiums before agreeing to supply crude or simply claiming the product is unavailable.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Dangote said, “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.
“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.
“Four years ago, one of my very wealthy friends began to invest his money abroad. I disagreed with him and urged him to rethink his action in the interest of his country. He blamed his action on policy inconsistencies and shenanigans of interest groups. That friend has been taunting me in the past few days, saying he warned me and that he has been proven right,” the businessman said.
Devakumar Edwin, who serves as the vice president, oil and gas, at the Dangote Group, last month accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of allowing marketers to import dirty fuel into the country.
That accusation drawn a reprisal from the main watchdog of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream operations whose chief, Farouk Ahmed, claimed diesel from the plant as well as the one from modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel contain high sulphur levels.
A high sulphur content in fuel could be injurious to vehicle engines and is known to be harmful to the environment in that it further heats up the fast-warming climate.
“The AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as West Africa’s requirement of 50 parts per million (ppm). Dangote refinery, as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650 ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much more inferior to the imported quality,” Mr Ahmed told journalists last Thursday.
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