NNPCL to pay pending $1.76bn equity in Dangote Refinery

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is to pay its pending $1.76 billion equity in Dangote Refinery with $2.5/barrel crude oil and dividend accruals.

The NNPCL disclosed that once the plant came on stream, which was initially for April 2023, it would begin the discounting of $2.5 for every barrel from the supply of 300,000 barrels per day to offset its remaining equity participation.

This is contained in NNPCL’s latest Audited Financial Statement (AFS) released on Friday.

“In September 2021, the NNPC acquired 20 per cent interest in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Free Zone Enterprise (DPRP FZE) worth $2.76 billion. This investment is held by NNPC Greenfield (a special purpose vehicle that is 100 per cent owned by NNPC) in trust for NNPC.

“This acquisition was financed by a $1.036 billion funding of which $1 billion was paid to Dangote Refinery and $36 million accounting for transaction costs.

“The balance of the cost of equity investments made in DPRP FZE, which is $1.76 billion will be paid upon completion of the refinery project starting April 1, 2023 or any other date agreed between the parties, that is the NNPC and Dangote Oil Refining Company Limited.

“(This shall be done) via a combination of a $2.5/bbl discount on the official selling price per barrel on 300,000 barrels per day to DPRP FZE, and 100 per cent of NNPC’s portion of any dividend declared by DPRP FZE throughout the repayment period,” the report said .

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However, it stated that it already entered into a forward sale agreement with Lekki Refinery Funding Limited, to supply 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day for the settlement of the $1.036 billion (N426.2 billion) funding already received for the financing of the investment in Dangote refinery.

“The interest rate for the facility is three-month libor plus 6.125 per cent. The arrangement has been scheduled to commence from August 30, 2023. Project Bison has been transferred to NNPC Limited,” the AFS highlighted.

Aside from the 35,000 forward sale for the repayment of the $1 billion part payment for the Dangote refinery, the NNPC also has a 90,000 bpd oil-for-debt financing deal of $3.3 billion with Afreximbank.

The increase in the overall performance of the NNPC, including the profit which it attributed to “owners of the company” and “non-controlling interest”, may also have been further enhanced by the recent decision to take the liability occasioned by the controversial fuel subsidy off its books after commercialisation.

Meanwhile, the report said NNPCL increased its revenue profile by 37.2 per cent, from N6.42 trillion in 2021 to N8.81 trillion in 2022, its latest Audited Financial Statement (AFS) released yesterday revealed.

The document, the fourth in the series to be made public since 1977, when the then NNPC began operations, also showed that the company recorded Profit After Tax (PAT) of N2.52 trillion, representing about 274 per cent increase when compared to the N674 billion it recorded in 2021.

In all, the audited statement for the year ended December 2022 showed that during the period under review, the NNPC had total non-current assets of N37 trillion and current assets of N21.59 trillion, to give a total of N58.65 trillion in assets.

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It also meant an increase by about 260.47 per cent compared to N16.27 trillion in 2021. But non-current liabilities stood at N19.98 trillion, while current liabilities were N29.3 trillion, to hit N49.35 trillion at the end of 2022 as against N13.46 trillion in 2021. This was an increase of about 266.6 per cent.

According to the new AFS, deferred tax liabilities was N13.23 trillion during the year, while deferred tax assets were N3.098 trillion. Cost of sales climbed to N6.7 trillion in 2022, that is, a 25.47 per cent increase from N5.34 trillion in 2021.

The NNPCL’s auditors noted that for the 16-month period ending December 2022, they had no doubt that the NNPC could continue as a going concern without fear of going bankrupt.

“The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the going concern principle under the historical cost convention.

“Nothing has come to the attention of the directors to indicate that NNPC will not remain a going concern for at least 12 months from the date of these financial statements. At this time, no significant events after the reporting date that may have an impact on going concern have been noted,” the auditors said in their notes to the 2022 AFS.

Signed into law by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, under the PIA, NNPC officially ‘transformed’ from a state-run oil corporation to a commercial venture in July 2022, even though it is still, to a large extent, being controlled by the federal government.

Looking back, in 2018, the NNPCL recorded a loss of N803 billion, while in 2019, it was reduced to N1.7 billion by the company. The NNPCL appeared to have turned the corner in 2020 when it posted a profit of N287 billion for the first time in its history and thereafter disclosed N674.1 billion as profit in 2021.

NNPCL to pay pending $1.76bn equity in Dangote Refinery