The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is making plans to borrow $3.9 billion from banks to acquire equity stake in the $19bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari disclosed this during an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday.
Afriexim Bank is expected to lend $1billion out of the $3.9billion to the corporation as the syndicator of the loan.
The GMD had during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday disclosed the corporation’s moves to raise the $3.9 billion from banks to acquire 20 percent equity in the private refinery. He however did not name the banks.
He had told Channels: “On the Dangote Refinery, we are not going to take our (Federal Government) money and buy it (equity).
” We are going to borrow for the cash flow of this business. We know that this business is viable, it will work and it will return dividends. It has a cash flow that is sustainable because it is a refinery business.”
During the Arise Television interview, he said: “We are borrowing $1billion from a syndicate being coordinated by Afriexim. I am sure you know no one is going to give you $1billion if they don’t see your partway to the recovery of that gas.
“And I am proud to say that we are not going to use any government money to pay that bank. What we are going to do is to get it from the cash flow of this refinery. It means that these banks will see that this refinery will make money and it will pay dividends that will enable us to pay them
“We have seen we can cash out our investment in five years.”
