Page 4 - AfrOil Week 22 2021

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

The refinery ’s 3,000-tonne regenerator (Photo: Mammoet)
The refinery’s 3,000-tonne regenerator (Photo: Mammoet)
Multiple investors eye Dangote

NNPC has publicly expressed its interest in acquiring a 20% stake in the massive refinery while

also launching a tender for a contract to rehabilitate and operate its own dilapidated facilities

NIGERIAN National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) collaboration, and you know that there’s a huge
last week expressed its interest in acquiring a quantity of crude for that refinery. That’s 650,000
WHAT: minority equity stake in the 650,000 barrel per barrels [per day], going into a single crude distil-
The 650,000 bpd Dangote day (bpd) refinery under construction by Dan- lation unit [CDU],” he explained.
plant will become Africa’s gote Group in the Lekki free trade zone (FTZ) Yakubu said that discussions are ongoing
largest refinery when it near Lagos. with Dangote about a potential deal.
comes on stream in 2022. Speaking at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Oppor-
tunity Fair, NNPC’s chief operating officer for Chasing success
WHY: refining and petrochemicals Mustapha Yakubu NNPC’s interest in such a move is hardly sur-
With funding in place said: “We have what we call the greenfield refin- prising, given the strategic nature of the project,
and NNPC taking a ery and the Greenfield Refining Projects Divi- which will carry a price tag of $15bn or more.
new approach, there is sion (GRPD) of the NNPC. What we do, our The Dangote unit, which will become Africa’s
newfound optimism about strategy is to collaborate and seek strategic part- largest refinery when it comes on stream early
Nigeria’s refining outlook.
nerships with private investors.” next year. The state-run oil firm, which has a
“At the moment” he added, “we have Dan- woeful downstream track record, has spoken
WHAT NEXT: gote Refinery, which is the 650,000 bpd plus a previously of the need to engage the private sec-
Three foreign companies
are also seeking to ac- mini 80,000 tonnes per annum [tpy] petro- tor in Nigeria’s refining industry.
quire equity stakes in the chemical plant.” The case is made even stronger in light of
oil-processing plant. “What are we doing there? I can tell you the fact that NNPC has failed to carry out turn-
today that we are seeking to have a 20% minor- around maintenance (TAM) work at its three
ity stake in Dangote Refinery as part of our refining complexes for around 44 years.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 02•June•2021