Aliko Dangote has said he is ready to relinquish ownership of the world’s biggest refinery to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The Nigerian billionaire spoke amid a new dispute over the sulphur content of petroleum products produced from the refinery and a reported misunderstanding with NNPC, one of the refinery's key equity partners, and the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

The refinery, which was commissioned by former President Mummadu Buhari, is estimated to have cost about $20 billion. It promises to help end Nigeria’s dependence on petrol imports and save about 30% of the total FX spent on imports.

The Chairman of the Dangote Group asked the NNPC to buy him out and run the refinery the best way they could, stating that they had labelled him a monopolist.

Africa’s richest man said Nigeria has faced a fuel crisis since the 1970s, promising that his refinery can help resolve the problem. He also stated that it appears that some people are uncomfortable with it.

Premium Times reports that Dangote’s bet on oil and gas is becoming hectic in its early days.

The refinery is set to begin selling petrol to the Nigerian market in early August after operating above half its capacity since January 2024, when it began refining petroleum products.

Dangote lamented the difficulty of sourcing crude oil, stating that international oil companies (IOCs) are demanding outrageous premiums and sometimes claim the product is unavailable.

According to reports, the NNPC had delivered only 6.9 million barrels of crude oil to the refinery as of May 2023.

The NNPC has a deal with the company that dates back to the beginning of operations. Earlier, the company agreed to a 20% equity participation.

The Dangote refinery has revealed that NNPC has only paid 7.2% before the deadline issued to the national oil firm.