The intervention placed emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration among all stakeholders to address concerns.
The Nigerian government has stepped in to address concerns surrounding the Dangote Refinery, following accusations of monopolistic practices.
“All parties involved demonstrated a strong commitment to proactive problem-solving and expressed their gratitude for the leadership and timely intervention provided,” Nigeria’s Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri stated.
This was after meeting with top executives from the Dangote Group, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The intervention follows Saturday’s announcement by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, that he is canceling plans to build a new steel plant in Nigeria due to government accusations of monopoly, after he reportedly requested the suspension of diesel and aviation fuel imports.
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Last week, NNPC’s shareholding in the Dangote Refinery was reduced from 20% to 7.2% due to unpaid funding.
The Dangote Refinery, one of the largest in Africa, began operations in January and has the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Dangote defended his business practices, saying, “We are not an assembly plant. If you look at all our operations as Dangote, we actually add value. We take local raw materials and turn them into products, and we sell. Everything is here. Everything is in Nigeria”.
In response to the accusations, Dangote suggested that the NNPC could buy out his stake in the refinery.
He also shared recent improvements in the refinery’s output, stating, “When we started, our quality was about 600 to 650 PPM [parts per million]. Today, we are at 87 PPM, and by the beginning of August, we’ll be at 10 PPM. In terms of quality, we are doing very well.”
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