Dangote Warns NNPC Refineries May Never Work Despite $18bn Investment

Aliko Dangote has cast doubt on the future of Nigeria’s government-owned refineries, saying they are unlikely to resume operations even after years of costly repairs and upgrades estimated to have cost the country over $18 billion.

Speaking during an industry visit at Lagos Business School, the Dangote Group chairman noted that repeated attempts to overhaul the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries have failed to restore production capacity, describing the facilities as effectively obsolete despite continuous funding.

According to Dangote, past turnaround projects and rehabilitation budgets have yielded little value for the nation’s oil sector.

He warned that the scale of money spent so far has not matched results on the ground, adding that the decades-old plants face structural and technological hurdles that make them unviable by today’s standards.

Industry data shows that multiple funding rounds have been approved over the years for the state-owned assets, including allocations in the billions for major maintenance and upgrades.

However, none of the three refineries has run at meaningful capacity for more than a decade, forcing Nigeria to rely heavily on imported petroleum products despite being Africa’s largest crude producer.

In sharp contrast, the privately owned Dangote Refinery, built at an estimated cost of $20 billion, recently began producing refined products, offering the first significant domestic output in years.

The massive plant, sited in the Lekki Free Zone, is projected to reduce Nigeria’s fuel import bill and boost supply to the local market once fully ramped up.

Dangote’s blunt remarks come as Nigeria continues to grapple with the economic burden of fuel subsidies, foreign exchange outflows for product imports and limited refining capacity.

Analysts say his comments highlight the urgent need for clear policy direction on how the government plans to handle its aging refining assets while private sector capacity expands.

Industry observers argue that without clear results from years of repairs and funding, the country may be forced to rely indefinitely on private facilities and imports to meet domestic demand unless a workable plan for the public refineries is presented.