Claim: In a recently circulated video, popular Afrobeats artist Seun Kuti criticized Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, alleging that the Federal Government invested $2 billion for a 20 percent stake in the Dangote Refinery. He compared this to the entire purchase of the Sinclair Refinery in the United States, claiming both refineries are of similar size.
Kuti stated, “Do you know how much the Federal Government put into the refinery? They gave $2 billion. I did a live stream the day they announced the $2 billion investment for 20 percent of that refinery. On the same day, Sinclair Oil in America sold a refinery of the same capacity, including rail tracks and infrastructure, for $2 billion. Yet, Dangote has the audacity to claim the government is sabotaging him.”
Findings
Seun Kuti, a notable figure in the Afrobeats genre with a substantial online presence, shared this video entitled “Organized Abandonment, Misinformation, and Miseducation,” which has garnered over 160,000 views and widespread shares across various platforms.
According to the official information from Dangote Group, the Dangote Refinery holds the title of the world’s largest single-train facility, with the capacity to process 3 billion Standard Cubic Feet of gas daily. Launched on May 22, 2023, the refinery commenced operations on January 12, 2024, following the arrival of six million barrels of crude oil.
Located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, the refinery boasts a storage capacity of 4.78 billion liters for refined petroleum products and is designed to produce up to 50 million liters of gasoline and 15 million liters of diesel each day. The project is integrated with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
Conversely, the Sinclair Oil Company operates refineries in Wyoming with a total production capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, processing crude oil primarily from the Rocky Mountain region and also from Canada.
Notably, Sinclair Oil operates a network of 1,500 branded gas stations across 29 states in the United States, widely recognized for its iconic green dinosaur mascot, Dino, featured prominently in its branding.
Historical records indicate that Harry Ford Sinclair formed the Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation in 1916, establishing it as a fully integrated oil company. In August 2021, the Sinclair refineries were acquired for $2.6 billion by HollyFrontier Corporation.
As of February 2024, the Dangote Refinery was recognized as the seventh largest refinery globally, while the Sinclair facility did not make the list of the top 10.
In August 2021, a former Minister of State for Petroleum disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Dangote Refinery for $2.76 billion; however, this stake has recently decreased to 7.2 percent.
Dayo Ayoade, a Professor of Energy at the University of Lagos, commented on Kuti’s statements, stating, “How can the Sinclair Oil Refinery be compared to the Dangote Refinery’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity? Seun is not an authority on energy; he is an entertainer and activist. His claims are incorrect; the Dangote refinery is newly established, while Sinclair has a long-standing operation.”
Verdict: The claim made by the Afrobeats artist is inaccurate.
