President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the company turned down attempts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to increase its ownership stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery beyond the current 7.25 per cent shareholding.
Dangote disclosed this during an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, Nicolai Tangen, where he explained that the decision was driven by plans to eventually open the refinery to wider Nigerian ownership through a public offering.
According to the billionaire industrialist, the refinery’s management deliberately rejected the proposal because the company wants ordinary Nigerians and other investors to participate in the ownership structure instead of concentrating additional shares in the hands of a single institution.
In a more detailed explanation, Dangote reportedly stated that the refinery is being positioned as a long-term national industrial asset and that broad-based ownership would help deepen investor confidence while creating opportunities for more Nigerians to benefit directly from the refinery’s success.
He also pointed to policy instability and economic uncertainty as some of the biggest risks facing large-scale investments in Nigeria, stressing that inconsistent government policies remain a major concern for investors.
Dangote explained that while fears of conflict or instability cannot be completely ruled out, policy inconsistency poses a more immediate threat to business sustainability and long-term industrial planning. He noted that the refinery’s relationship with the NNPC remains positive, but clarified that the company prefers a more inclusive ownership arrangement moving forward.
The disclosure comes amid growing evidence that the $20bn Lekki-based refinery is rapidly reshaping Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
Findings showed that petrol supply from local refineries surged to 3.18 billion litres in the first quarter of 2026, while fuel imports dropped sharply to about 965.52 million litres during the same period.
Industry data indicated that the refinery supplied over ₦3.2tn worth of petrol domestically between January and March 2026, based on an average ex-depot petrol price of roughly ₦1,000 per litre.
Although official NMDPRA supply documents did not specifically mention the Dangote refinery in the first-quarter breakdown, the facility remains Nigeria’s only refinery currently producing petrol on a large commercial scale, making it the dominant contributor to local PMS supply.
The figures showed that domestic refining accounted for about 76.7 per cent of total petrol supply in the first quarter of 2026, marking a major reversal from previous years when imports dominated the market.
Compared to the same period in 2025, local refinery supply increased by over 59 per cent, while petrol imports declined by more than 60 per cent, underscoring Nigeria’s gradual transition away from dependence on imported fuel.
Dangote also revealed during the interview that the refinery has now exceeded its official production nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, disclosing that the facility recently processed 661,000 barrels daily.
He described the achievement as proof that the refinery has successfully demonstrated its operational capability and technical efficiency despite early scepticism surrounding the project.
According to him, the refinery’s performance has significantly boosted confidence among global financial institutions, many of which are now more willing to support future Dangote industrial projects because the company has proven its ability to deliver large-scale infrastructure successfully.
Dangote further disclosed ambitious plans to expand refining operations to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next 30 months, a move that could make the facility one of the largest refining complexes globally.
Speaking on crude oil sourcing, the businessman explained that the refinery currently obtains about 56 per cent of its crude supply from Nigeria while also importing crude from countries such as Angola, Libya and the United States.
He revealed that the refinery purchases about 21 crude cargoes monthly due to its enormous processing scale.
The industrialist also discussed the impact of the ongoing Middle East crisis involving the United States and Iran, saying the conflict has unexpectedly created significant gains for the refinery and its associated businesses.
Dangote explained that global energy disruptions have pushed up prices of fertiliser, aviation fuel and petrochemical products, resulting in increased demand and stronger revenues for the group.
According to him, fertiliser prices rose from around $400 per tonne earlier in the year to approximately $850 per tonne, while polypropylene prices jumped from about $900 to nearly $3,000 in some international markets.
He added that the refinery’s aviation fuel production has already been oversubscribed until mid-July, with the company currently producing about 20 million litres of jet fuel daily.
Dangote argued that without local polypropylene production, many Nigerian plastic manufacturers would have struggled severely because of supply shortages in international markets.
The businessman also revisited the controversial reduction of NNPC’s stake in the refinery. He recalled that the original agreement granted the national oil company a 20 per cent stake, but the corporation failed to complete payment for the remaining shares before the agreed deadline.
He explained that after several extensions, the NNPC eventually opted to retain only the portion it had fully paid for, which amounted to approximately 7.25 per cent.
Dangote further revealed that future investors in the refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical businesses would receive dividends in dollars because the group expects around 80 per cent of its future revenues to come from exports.
He stressed that the company’s export-driven structure provides stronger foreign exchange earnings and greater protection against currency volatility.
Speaking about how the refinery was financed, Dangote acknowledged the critical support received from several Nigerian and international financial institutions, including Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered.
He explained that the group initially planned to finance much of the refinery using internally generated funds, but the sharp depreciation of the naira forced the company to rely more heavily on external financing.
Dangote also shared personal sacrifices made during the refinery project, revealing that he sold luxury properties in both the United States and the United Kingdom to fully focus on industrial investments in Nigeria.
According to him, he chose to simplify his lifestyle in order to concentrate entirely on building long-term industrial projects capable of transforming Nigeria’s economy.
He stated that every Dangote business is driven by long-term strategic targets rather than short-term profit motives, noting that the group is currently pursuing a vision to achieve $100bn in annual revenue by 2030.
Dangote disclosed plans to inject about $45bn into expansion projects across cement, petrochemicals, fertiliser and refining, while also bringing in additional investors through partial equity sales.
He projected that the group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation could rise from about $3bn last year to over $30bn by 2030.
The businessman also criticised what he described as powerful interests benefiting from Nigeria’s former fuel subsidy regime, accusing certain groups of attempting to frustrate the refinery because it threatens their long-standing profits from fuel importation and subsidy allocations.
In a strongly worded remark, Dangote said individuals and businesses that previously benefited from fuel subsidy payments, crude trading and import allocations resisted the refinery because its operations disrupted the old downstream structure that generated massive profits for a few players.
Despite these challenges, he maintained that the refinery has already changed the landscape of Nigeria’s petroleum industry by significantly reducing dependence on imported fuel and strengthening domestic refining capacity.
