Business

NNPC stake in Dangote Refinery is 7.2%, Dangote clarifies

Published

5 months ago

July 15, 2024

Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote

NNPC stake in Dangote Refinery is 7.2%, Dangote clarifies

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited now owns a 7.2% stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and not a 20% stake as initially announced before the inauguration of the facility at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made this clarification at a press briefing on Sunday.

He said the NNPC’s stake dropped to 7.2% over the company’s failure to pay the balance of their share, which was due in June.

The NNPC had acquired a 20 per cent interest in the $20bn Dangote refinery for $2.76 billion.

“NNPC no longer owns a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote refinery. They were met to pay their balance in June, but have yet to fulfil the obligations. Now, they only own a 7.2% stake in the refinery,” Dangote said.

The NNPC also confirmed the development in a statement late Sunday.

“NNPC Limited periodically assesses its investment portfolio to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic goals,” said a spokesman for the company.

“The decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago,” said Olufemi Soneye.

Energy Issues

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational. The country is heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities.

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Fuel queues are a commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol tripled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.

Last December, Dangote, one of Africa’s leading industrialists, commenced operations at his $20bn facility sited in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country while petrol supply is expected to commence in August.

Dangote had expressed frustration about getting Nigerian crude for his facility. A Bloomberg report had it that the Lagos-based refinery bought about 24 million barrels of crude from the United States.

The NNPC had reportedly pledged Nigerian crude in a $3.3 billion oil-for-loan Afreximbank deal, hampering its local crude supply. Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, way lesser than the 1.7 million bpd benchmark in the 2024 Budget.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had in May said the decision by the Lagos-based refinery to import US crude could be based on its business model.

But Dangote disclosed on Sunday that his refinery would roll out petrol from August 2024, having resolved its crude oil supply issues with the NNPC and the Federal Government.

NNPC stake in Dangote Refinery is 7.2%, Dangote clarifies

Related Topics:Dangote refinery Featured NNPC

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Railway

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Published

12 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) trains are included in the Federal Government’s free train ride initiative for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The LRMT, which currently includes the Phase 1 Blue Line Rail and the Phase 1 of the Red Line Rail, operates under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

This announcement was made by Ben Iloanusi, the Acting Managing Director of the NRC, during an interview on NTA News TV on Friday, following the launch of the initiative earlier that day.

While Iloanusi stated that Phase 1 of both the Blue Line and Red Line Rail projects are part of the program, LAMATA has yet to confirm this inclusion.

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Iloanusi outlined the other routes benefiting from the scheme, which include the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit in Lagos. Notably, little was previously known about the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit service until this disclosure.

“Let me mention the routes where this free train service is happening. We have the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, we have the Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, we have the Warri-Itakpe Train Service, we have the Lagos Rail Mass Transit trains, we have the Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and we have what we call the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit, which is also in Lagos,” he stated.

Iloanusi provided operational updates, stating that passengers nationwide can access free tickets online or, for those unable to do so, at train stations where they will be profiled and validated.

He noted that passengers using NRC-managed services (excluding the Lagos Rail Mass Transit) should reserve tickets via the official website, www.nrc.gov.ng, with a valid ID required. He also advised travelers to plan, arrive on time, and bring valid identification.

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Business

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Published

12 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Port Harcourt refinery

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied claims in media reports that the newly refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has shut down.

The national oil company denied the claim in a press release issued by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.

Soneye said the claim was false and urged Nigerians to disregard it. He stressed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is fully operational.

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The statement read, “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”

He noted that preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing, and added that claims of the shutdown are “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Business

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Trends Admin

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

This move, detailed in a circular dated December 19, 2024, is designed to meet seasonal retail demand for FX during the holiday period.

The circular was signed by T.G. Allu, on behalf of the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.

The arrangement will be in effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.

Under the directive, BDCs may purchase FX from a single Authorized Dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.

Transactions to occur at the prevailing NFEM rate

The transactions will occur at the prevailing NFEM rate, and BDCs are required to adhere to a maximum 1% spread when pricing FX for retail end-users.

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All transactions conducted under this scheme must be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.

The circular read in part:

“In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD 25,000.00 (Twenty-five thousand dollars only).

This window will be open between December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.

“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized Dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate. All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1% is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users.”

The CBN assured the general public that PTA (Personal Travel Allowance) and BTA (Business Travel Allowance) remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.”

These transactions are to be conducted at “market-determined exchange rates” within the NFEM framework.

This initiative reflects the CBN’s strategy to stabilize the FX market and manage seasonal surges in demand.