NNPC chief Bayo Ojulari has described the Dangote Refinery as a vital stabiliser of Nigeria’s energy system amid fuel supply challenges
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Bayo Ojulari, has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a critical stabiliser of Nigeria’s energy system, amid persistent challenges in operating government-owned refineries and meeting domestic fuel demand.
Ojulari made the remarks on Wednesday during a fireside chat titled “Securing Nigeria’s Energy Future” at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026 in Abuja.
He said the presence of a functional local refinery has provided NNPC with much-needed breathing space at a time of intense pressure to ensure continuity of fuel supply across the country.
According to him, the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery has significantly eased the strain on Nigeria’s fuel supply chain, drawing strong reactions from participants at the summit.
“Thank God for Dangote Refinery. Whether you love Dangote or you hate him, Nigerians should thank God for Dangote,” Ojulari said, prompting applause from the audience.
He noted that the refinery’s contribution came at a critical moment when legacy state-owned refineries were still struggling to deliver fuel at scale.
Beyond capacity, Ojulari stressed that local ownership of the facility remains central to national energy security, describing it as a strategic advantage for the country.
“Thank God he’s a Nigerian. Despite everything, that gave us an opportunity because we have a refinery that is working,” he said.
While acknowledging that the Dangote plant does not yet meet Nigeria’s full domestic fuel requirements, the NNPC chief said its operations have significantly reduced supply vulnerabilities.
“Yes, it may not meet our full needs, but it gives us a breathing space. And luckily, we are shareholders in that refinery as well,” Ojulari added.
The comments signal a notable shift from years of tension between NNPC and the Dangote Group, which had previously clashed over crude supply terms, regulatory approvals, pricing, and market dominance concerns.
Ojulari said the current NNPC leadership has adopted a pragmatic approach focused on collaboration rather than confrontation, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
He disclosed that NNPC has since engaged directly with Alhaji Aliko Dangote to establish a framework for cooperation aimed at maximising value for Nigerians while preserving NNPC’s institutional role.
Nigeria’s leading energy firm Oando plans to raise up to $750 million this year for a drilling campaign that could boost output by 300%, tapping improved investor appetite for West African producers amid turmoil linked to the Iran war, the Group Chief Executive of the oil firm, Jubril Adewale Tinubu, CON, told Reuters recently in an interview.
The oil and gas company is among a handful of local companies that have snapped up assets from oil majors in the past decade as they exit Nigerian onshore. This year, surging energy prices should open more funding sources for producers in the region, Tinubu said.
We are pushing very, very hard towards getting the financing that we need to do an extensive drilling campaign,” Tinubu told Reuters.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer with crude and condensate output of around 1.6 million barrels a day.
Oando, whose production averaged just over 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in fiscal 2025, aims to drill as many as 100 wells to boost output, particularly from assets purchased from Western majors ConocoPhillips and Eni.
While in the past the company had struggled with securing cash for drilling due to investor worries that Africa was an “unsafe environment”, the Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have shifted that view, Tinubu said.
“Africa is very, very peaceful compared to these regions,” he said.
Already, Tinubu said there was a shift in demand for Nigeria’s crude, with more cargoes sailing to Asia to replace Gulf oil trapped due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
FUNDING SQUEEZE FROM EUROPE
Oando has raised $3 billion-$4 billion in the past decade, much of it from European banks, the GCE said, the bulk of which went toward acquisitions.
European banks had now almost completely withdrawn from African hydrocarbons due to climate concerns, he said, pushing Oando to funders including the African Export-Import Bank and the African Finance Corporation, and to oil trading houses including Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore and Mercuria.
However, Africa needed more “substantial long-term funding”, he added.
More Gulf banks were interested in hydrocarbon projects in Africa and more parties were joining their syndications, while private equity funds and hedge funds were also more active in funding African energy, he said.
Oando recently expanded into Angola, and Tinubu said they are exploring opportunities in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Africa should pool capital available at home, via pension funds and other sources, to fund large-scale capital projects, he added.
Geopolitical turmoil will have “long-reaching strategic implications for global energy security”, he said, and keep focus on West Africa’s reserves.
“Even if the ceasefire lasts, which, hopefully it will, it wouldn’t change the fact that consistently, you’re going to find disruptions,” he said.
GASOLINE EXPORTS, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Nigeria, Tinubu said, is well placed to draw funding after a landmark 2021 overhaul of its hydrocarbon law and reforms by current President Bola Tinubu, his uncle, to currency and costly petrol subsidies.
The new 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote Oil Refinery on the outskirts of Lagos, Tinubu said, highlighted the value of Nigeria’s resources.
Tinubu, whose company was once among the nation’s largest fuel importers, said imports were now only needed to test for pricing or during refinery maintenance.
Longer term, Tinubu hopes to exploit some of Oando’s own gas production for petrochemicals and fertilizers to further boost the value added to Nigerian resources.
The company was working to “streamline” financials to avoid further delays in filing audited statements with the Nigerian Exchange after deadline extension in recent years.
In August, Oando’s board signed off on a proposal to launch a multi-instrument issuance programme of up to $1.5 billion.
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