I doubt NNPC refineries repair will work — Dangote

Abdullateef Fowewe

The president of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has expressed doubts about the potential for the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to become operational again.

Dangote made these remarks while hosting members of the Global CEO Africa from the Lagos Business School, following a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos.

The billionaire noted that over 50 per cent of the production from his refinery—established after the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua rejected his attempt to acquire the state refineries—now consists of petrol.

“The refineries that we bought before, which were owned by Nigeria, were doing about 22 per cent of PMS. We bought the refineries in January 2007. Then we had to return them to the government because there was a change of government.

“And the managing director at that time convinced Yar’Adua that the refineries would work.

“They said they just gave them to us as a parting gift or so. And as of today, they have spent about $18 billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. I don’t think and I doubt very much if they will work,” he noted.

Dangote emphasised that the turnaround maintenance of the refineries “is like you trying to modernise a car that was built 40 years ago, when technology and everything have changed.

“Even if you change the engine, the body will not be able to take the shock of that new technology engine,” Dangote added.