Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is in talks for the loan for its mega refinery project in Nigeria.
According to some sources, the talks are with the biggest oil traders in the world, such as Trafigura and Vitol, as Dangote is looking for outside cash. There is also an option of raising another USD500 million from a trade house or consortium that was being explored.
Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC has agreed to buy a 20% stake in the refinery for about USD2.8 billion.
The upcoming 650,000 bpd refinery will be located outside of Nigeria’s commercial center Lagos. Once complete, it will be the continent’s largest plant and redraw major trade flows of crude and fuel in the Atlantic basin.
As the refinery has been delayed by several years, the cost has surged to USD19 billion from the earlier estimates of USD12-14 billion. Other than that, coronavirus outbreaks among the site’s workers, along with delays in getting materials, have also delayed construction.
