Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has stated that the company turned down attempts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to expand its shareholding in the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery ahead of its intended public listing.
Speaking in an interview with Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund manager Dangote explained that the decision was deliberate as the refinery prepares to go public.
He noted that the shareholders refused NNPC’s request for additional equity in order to widen ownership and give more Nigerians the opportunity to participate when the refinery is eventually listed on the stock exchange.
According to him, “We are the ones that said no; we want to now spread it and have everybody be part of it.”
NNPC stake reduced to 7.25%
Initially, in 2021, NNPC planned to take a 20% stake in the refinery through a $2.76 billion financing deal. However, Dangote later revealed that the state-owned oil company only managed to pay part of its obligation, resulting in a much smaller ownership position.
He explained that the company failed to meet payment deadlines, adding that the NNPC now holds about 7.25% equity in the refinery instead of the originally proposed 20%.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, considered the largest in Africa and the biggest single-train refinery in the world, currently processes over 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Expansion plans are also underway that could eventually raise capacity to around 1.4 million barrels per day.
The planned listing of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals may see up to 10% of the company offered to the public, with estimates valuing the transaction at roughly $5 billion.
Dangote also highlighted policy instability as a major risk factor affecting large industrial investments in Nigeria, noting that regulatory uncertainty remains a key concern for long-term planning.