The Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) have pledged to deepen collaboration, a move aimed at boosting Nigeria’s energy security and industrial capacity. The announcement followed a tour of the Lekki-based facility by NNPC’s Group Chief Executive, Bayo Ojulari, where both parties outlined plans for strategic partnership across the petroleum value chain.
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, described the cooperation as having “no limits,” stressing a shared objective to advance national interests. “We will cooperate… to make Nigerians proud,” Dangote stated, framing the alliance as a critical step for the country’s economic development.
A cornerstone of the existing relationship is NNPC’s minority stake, representing national ownership. Dangote confirmed NNPC holds a 7.25 per cent share in the refinery on behalf of Nigerian citizens. Building on this, he announced plans for a forthcoming public share offering, allowing individual Nigerians to invest directly in the project within the next four to five months. To enhance investor appeal, dividends will be flexible, with options for payment in either naira or dollars, reflecting the refinery’s foreign exchange earnings.
Discussions are reportedly ongoing to expand cooperation beyond the refinery’s operations. Dangote indicated potential joint ventures in upstream activities, such as crude oil supply, and other segments of the energy sector. He characterised the Dangote facility not merely as a refinery but as an “industrial hub,” signifying broader ambitions for integrated manufacturing.
The refinery’s expansion agenda includes new projects, such as a linear alkylbenzene (LAB) plant, a key detergent raw material. Dangote projected that this single facility will produce enough LAB to supply the entire African continent, with completion expected within 30 months. This aligns with the long-term vision of positioning the complex as a major continental supplier of refined petroleum and petrochemical products.
The public investment component is designed to broaden the project’s ownership base and align with national development goals. By offering shares to citizens and providing currency-flexible returns, the initiative seeks to foster widespread participation in a landmark industrial asset.
This heightened cooperation between Nigeria’s largest private conglomerate and the state oil company is viewed as a pivotal development for the nation’s struggling downstream sector. The Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is central to Nigeria’s strategy to eliminate fuel imports, conserve foreign exchange, and stimulate ancillary industries. The partnership with NNPC is expected to secure reliable crude supply and enhance operational stability, while the public share sale aims to translate national asset ownership into tangible economic benefit for citizens. The progress of these collaborative and public investment plans will be closely monitored as a benchmark for private-public synergy in Africa’s largest oil economy.
