Refinery owners reveal those stopping Nigeria from refining petrol

• Modular refinery owners have thrown their weight behind Aliko Dangote over claims of existing oil mafia
• The refinery operators said Dangote buttressed their positions on the existence of the oil mafia who do not want Nigeria to end petrol import
• Dangote exposed the mafia recently, saying that they tried to stop him from building Africa’s largest refinery

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

Modular refineries confirmed Dangote’s statement on Nigeria’s oil mafia, which wants to stop Nigeria from refining crude oil for petrol and other petroleum products.

The modular refinery operators state that they raised similar concerns on many occasions but received no feedback. They also state that the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, re-emphasized their stance last week.

Chairman of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote exposes the oil mafia in Nigeria Credit: Bloomberg/Contributor
Source: Getty Images

Dangote names those behind refinery funding

Legit.ng previously reported that Dangote mentioned the oil mafia and their efforts to stop him from building Africa’s largest refinery.

He disclosed this while speaking at the Afreximbank annual meetings in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Wednesday, June 12. 

Africa's richest man named Afreximbank and Access Bank as a big part of the refinery funding. 

He stated that the vision would have failed without their backing.

Refinery owners agree with Dangote

The refinery owners, under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), said the merchants have held Nigeria hostage in domestic petroleum products production and are stifling the country's supply.

Punch reports that Africa’s wealthiest man said local and international oil mafia tried everything to stop him from building the refinery.

Dangote said:

“As a matter of fact during the COVID period, some of the international banks were looking forward to making sure that they push us into default of our loans so that the project will just be dead. And that didn’t happen with the help of banks like Afreximbank.” 

According to him, the rise in food inflation in Nigeria is also due to a hike in petrol prices. He said that in-country refining would help tackle the high costs.

Modular refineries seek crude import from the US

According to reports, modular refineries seek constant crude oil supplies from the US to address a supply gap.

The development comes amid warnings that several modular refinery projects could be stalled due to unreliable domestic supply.

The refinery owners are reportedly seeking imports due to cheap pricing and availability.

Dangote plans another project

This comes as the Dangote Refinery is reportedly planning to establish a refinery terminal in the Caribbean to export petroleum products to countries in the North American region, Legit.ng earlier reported.

Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Industries, revealed this on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at the Afreximbank’s Trade and Investment Forum in the Bahamas.

Dangote said the company can supply petroleum products to the region within 18 to 20 days.

He said the firm would sign an agreement with the region to construct a terminal for exporting petroleum products.

Dangote, other refineries to crash petrol prices

Legit.ng previously reported that Petrol prices should crash to about N300 per litre when mass production by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other refineries begins production.

Refinery owners, under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), explained that providing enough crude oil to local refiners would crash the price of petrol, stating that foreign refineries were cheating Nigeria.

CORAN stated that, like diesel prices, which sold for N1,700 before Dangote began production but later crashed to N1,200, the cost of petrol will crash when mass production begins.

Source: Legit.ng