The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has said it reduced its state in Dangote Petroleum Refinery to 7.2 percent, in order to invest in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
NNPCL’s spokesperson, Femi Soneye, revealed this on Brekete Family programme on Monday.
In September 2021, the NNPC acquired a 20 percent interest in Dangote refinery for $2.76 billion.
However, on July 14, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, said the national oil company now owns 7.2 percent stake in the refinery.
Clarifying the ambiguity, Soneye further said the company does not have any issues with Dangote refinery. He explained that the NNPC was not collaborating with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to sabotage the refinery.
“The reason for reducing our stake in Dangote refinery is because we wanted to invest in CNG. We observed that CNG is very cheap and all over the world, people are investing in clean and cheaper alternative energy”, Soneye said.
Soneye added that if Nigerians use CNG, it will be cost-effective for them.
“That is why the NNPC is building different CNG stations everywhere. We understand that with N10,000, Nigerians can fill their cars and use it for two weeks. We realised that gas is cheaper in Nigeria, why don’t we invest in it since this is what people are doing all over the world?” Soneye stated.
The spokesperson said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) does not give NNPC the power to stop the Dangote refinery.
“We want all Nigerians to know that the NNPC does not have any issue with the Dangote Refinery. We are part of the owners of the Dangote refinery and we don’t want it to collapse,” Soneye said.
“We invested billions of naira into the Dangote refinery. As of today, we have a 7.2 per cent stake in the refinery. So, why would we want to sabotage such a company?”
