We didn’t frustrate Dangote Refinery – NNPC

The NNPC described the claims that it frustrated the operations of Dangote Refinery as illogical because it also holds an over 7% stake in the company.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has debunked the viral claims that it attempted to deliberately hinder the construction and operation of the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The last couple of months have seen a fever-pitch tension between the owner of the Dangote Refinery and Nigerian businessman, Aliko Dangote, and various Nigerian oil regulators over allegations of sabotage.

Things got heated after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) alleged that the Dangote Refinery has been churning out substandard diesel from its facility, adding that the owner was seeking to enforce a monopoly on the market.

In response, Dangote accused the regulators of frustrating its efforts to get crude oil supply as part of a grand plan by some officials of various regulatory agencies, including the NNPC, whom he alleged owned blending plants outside the country.

It took the intervention of President Bola Tinubu to broker peace between the business mogul and the regulators, which paved the way for a crude supply deal to Dangote Refinery and an imminent rollout of fuel from the facility.

NNPC denies sabotage allegations

Reflecting on the crisis and the allegations of sabotage, the Executive Vice President (Downstream) of NNPC, Dapo Segun, said such claims were unfounded and against logical reasoning.

Speaking in a recent media chat, Segun revealed that the national oil company went over and above to ensure the success of the indigenous refinery, especially as a 7.25% shareholder.

He stressed that the NNPC’s equity stake in the refinery makes it illogical for the company to frustrate the project.

“NNPC has supported the Dangote refinery as a shareholder should. We’ve gone out of our way to ensure its success,” he said.

Segun attributed the delays in reaching an agreement on crude supply to standard business transactions, which are known to be guided by clear terms and conditions.

“Negotiations took days, but we reached conclusions. We’re running a business, and everything is according to the signed terms and conditions,” he added.