Dangote bounces back, earns N313.2bn in 24 hours after losing N5.6 billion overnight

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, has bounced back after losing about N5.6 billion on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

The Nigerian industrialist, who has experienced a decline in net worth, skidded off the top 100 wealthiest people in the world from 76th in June when Nigeria devalued its currency.

Dangote's drop caused by naira devaluation

The currency devaluation affected most of Dangote's stocks, namely his Dangote Cement, where he holds a majority stake and is the primary source of his wealth.

Dangote has lost about $5 billion since Nigeria began the foreign exchange reforms, which has seen the naira lose over 40% of its value.

He is ranked 115 richest globally, with an estimated $15.8 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Dangote Refinery to begin production

His 650,000 bpd-capacity refinery is billed to begin production in December this year.

Dangote has said that the refinery is waiting for a crude supply from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to begin operations, he told investors in Saudi Arabia recently.

"We don't want to start our refinery with foreign goods. We want to start with the Nigerian crude. We're ready; you will see our gasoline products soon," Dangote said.

According to him, the refinery will focus on the Nigerian market before exporting to other countries, especially in West Africa and the world.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the refinery on May 22, 2023. Dangote promised the refinery would commence production by late July or early August. The facility missed two production deadlines.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) directed local oil companies to prioritize the supply of crude oil to local refineries in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).