NNPC GM, Dangote pledge to deepen collaboration for Nigeria’s energy security

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals have pledged to deepen collaboration aimed at ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and advancing shared prosperity.

Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC Ltd, in a statement on Friday said this commitment was made during a courtesy visit by Aliko Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, and members of the company’s senior management team at the NNPC Towers, on Thursday.

“As part of ongoing efforts to promote mutually beneficial partnerships and foster healthy competition, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) have pledged to deepen collaboration aimed at ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and advancing shared prosperity for Nigerians,” the statement said.

Mr Soneye said during the visit, Mr Dangote pledged to collaborate with the new NNPC management to ensure energy security for Nigeria.

“There is no competition between us, we are not here to compete with NNPC Ltd. NNPC is part and parcel of our business and we are also part of NNPC. This is an era of co-operation between the two organisations,” Mr Dangote was quoted as saying.

While congratulating Mr Ojulari and the senior management team on their “well-deserved appointments,” according to the statement, Mr Dangote acknowledged the enormity of the responsibility ahead, noting that Mr Ojulari is shouldering a monumental task, adding that with the capable hands at his disposal in NNPC, the task is surmountable.

In his remarks, Mr Ojulari assured Mr Dangote of a mutually beneficial partnership anchored on healthy competition and productive collaboration.

The NNPC GCEO highlighted the exceptional caliber of talent he met in NNPC Ltd, describing the workforce as dedicated, highly skilled and hardworking professionals who are consistently keen on delivering value for Nigeria.

Expressing the company’s readiness to build a legacy of national prosperity through innovation and shared purpose, Mr Ojulari said NNPC will sustain its collaboration with the Dangote group especially where there is commercial advantage for Nigeria.

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According to the statement, both executives also committed to being the relationship managers for their respective organisations through sustained productive collaboration and healthy competition, thereby envisioning limitless opportunities for both organisations.

The Thursday meeting between both parties is the first official engagement since the previous GCEO of the company was removed.

Last month, President Bola Tinubu sacked the board of the NNPC Ltd, including its GCEO, Mele Kyari, and board chairperson Pius Akinyelure.

The president also approved the appointment of Bayo Ojulari as the new GCEO of the NNPC and Ahmadu Kida as non-executive chairman.

NNPC also announced the appointment of a new 8-member senior management team.

Dangote Refinery-NNPC Tango

In recent years, the Dangote Group has been at loggerheads with the NNPC Ltd over the control of the petroleum downstream market.

One of the key issues that has also strained the relationship between the two parties in recent time, is the Naira to crude deal.

In July last year, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directed NNPC Ltd to engage Dangote Refinery and other local refineries to resolve the dispute over the sale of crude oil to them.

The FEC, presided over by President Tinubu, also directed that crude oil sales to the refineries be made in naira and that the refineries, located in Nigeria, sell their refined products to the Nigerian market in naira.

Last October, the Nigerian government said it officially commenced selling crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira.

On 10 March, the NNPC Ltd said the contract for the sale of crude oil in Naira was structured as a six-month agreement, subject to availability, and expires at the end of March 2025. At the time, the NNPC said discussions were currently ongoing towards emplacing a new contract.

Reacting to reports alleging unilateral termination of the crude oil sale agreement between NNPC and Dangote Refinery, the Nigerian government on 11 March said the policy framework enabling the sale of crude oil in naira for domestic refining remains in force.

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On 19 March, the Dangote refinery announced the temporary suspension of sales of petroleum products in Naira.

The refinery said the decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between its sales proceeds and its crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in dollars.

In April, a meeting between a presidential delegation and officials of the Dangote refinery, the NNPC Ltd and other parties agreed to extend the policy of selling Nigerian crude to local refineries in naira.

The meeting also resolved that the policy, including the sale of the products obtained from such crude in naira, will not have a terminal date.