The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it is considering purchasing shares in at least six privately controlled refineries in the West African nation to conform to a government directive.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is seeking an equity stake in the 650,000 barrels-per-day facility that Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, is building outside Lagos, as well as in five other refineries that are in the development phase, to promote “national energy security,” the company said in a statement Monday.
A government policy “stipulates the mandatory participation of the Corporation in any privately-owned refinery that exceeds 50,000 barrels per day capacity,” the NNPC said.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is relying on the Dangote Group’s facility, which is expected to be completed this year, to significantly reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel products. The refinery is part of a $15 billion petrochemical complex that will also house a gas processor and the world’s largest ammonia plant.
