Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote accused Nigeria’s oil sector regulator of failing to limit fuel imports, which he argues is threatening investments into local refining. Renewing a long-running feud with the regulator, he called for the head of the agency, with whom he has clashed for more than a year, to be investigated for misconduct.
Nigeria, the continent’s top crude oil producer, has for years relied on costly fuel imports due to its lack of refining capacity. Dangote, whose oil refinery in Lagos is the largest in Africa and began rolling out fuel products last year, accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority of threatening the country’s energy security. The head of the regulator has previously accused Dangote of pursuing a monopoly.
The 650,000-barrel a day Dangote refinery has incrementally scaled up output over the past year to become an exporter to the US, and plans to double its capacity by 2028. The plant plans to supply 50 million liters of petrol daily to Nigerian consumers between now and February, from a previous daily rate of 45 million liters.