Dangote Group, Zenon Oil, Transcorp and Rivers State Government under the name: Bluestar Oil Services Limited Consortium, yesterday emerged the preferred bidder/core investor for Port Harcourt Refinery Company. The consortium submitted  a bid  of $561 million (N71.808 billion) for 51 per cent of Federal Government’s equity in the ailing crude oil refining company.

This is coming against the backdrop of protest from National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NU-PENG), and the shutting down operations of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Lagos, Port Harcourt, Mosimi and Kaduna.

Sources informed Pointblanknews.com that the protest were primarily over allegations that the process leading to the purchase of the Port-Harcourt refinery were unfair.

Specifically, Pointblanknews.com learnt that Bluestar Oil is a front for out-going President Olusegun Obasanjo

But the transaction for the Kaduna Refinery and Petr-oleum Company (KRPC), which received only one bid for 51 per cent Federal Government’s stake was not concluded as China National Petroleum Corporation offered $102 million, which was below the reserve price. The offer by the Chinese firm would have to be ratified by the National Council on Privatization (NCP). 

  
Bluestar consortium immediately   paid $300 million, re-presenting more than 50 per cent of the bid price for the company, in line with the payment mechanism of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for the transaction. The consortium is expected to pay the 50 per cent balance of the purchase consideration into a designated account by 4 pm of the seventh working day immediately following the official notification of a successful bid.

The sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery, which involved Oando Plc and Refinee Petroplus Nigeria Limited as bidders, was part of the financial bids opening for 18 transactions conducted inside the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Oando and Refinee Petroplus were, however, disqualified for failing to include a draft of 50 per cent of their bid prices in the envelopes submitted to BPE.

The 18 transactions included Lagos International Trade Fair Complex; National Arts Theatre and Tafawa Balewa Square; Egbin Power Plc; Onigbolo Cement Company, Benin Republic; Ayip-Eku Oil Palm Company; eight Liquefied Petroleum Gas depots; Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Coal Blocks and Mining Titles.

Onigbolo Cement Company of Republic of Benin in which the Federal Government owns 35 per cent was bought by Dangote Group for $1.781 billion. Dangote Group, the nation’s major cement producer was, however, the only bidder for the company. The Group has already paid 10 per cent of the bid price ($178 million), although the rule of the transaction provides that the first 10 per cent of the purchase consideration must be paid into a designated account on or before 12 midnight of the 10th working day immediately following the official notification of a successful bid.

The remaining 90 per cent would be paid into BPE’s designated account latest by 12 midnight of the working days immediately following the official notification of the successful bid.

Egbin Power Plc, presently managed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) Energy Resources was bought by the same company at $280 million.

Also, Ajaokuta Steel Company Complex hitherto on concession to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited was converted to joint venture partnership on a 60 per cent to 40 per cent basis between Global Infrastructure and the Federal Government respectively. Yesterday’s bid opening saw the former paying $525 million for its own 60 per cent stake.

The National Arts Theatre, which attracted bids from eight prospective concessionaires, went to Infrastructica, which emerged preferred bidder with N35.84 billion for a 35-year concession. Jadeas Trust, which offered N28.902 billion, was declared the reserved bidder.

Similarly, Tafawa Balewa Square, which had a 25-year concession arrangement, was snapped up by BHS International for N9.5 billion. Black Swan followed with N9.2 billion as reserve bidder. The Lagos International Trade Fair Complex with a similar 25 years concession was won by Aulic Nigeria Limited with a bid of N40 billion while Unison Property Development is the reserve bidder.

For the LPG depots, Sahara Energy Resources Limited bought Calabar depot for $11.1 million while MRS Oil and Gas was the reserve bidder with $10 million; MRS Oil and Gas got Kano depot for $4 million. The bids of Brockport Limited ($3m) for Enugu depot; Le-Global ($1.05m) for Ibadan depot; Le-Global ($1.948m) for Ilorin depot and Global Gas and Refining, which offered $250,000 were all below the reserve prices and would have their offers ratified by the NCP.

Chairman of the Bluestar Oil Services Limited Consortium and President, Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said Nigerian entrepreneurs must take the lead in the nation’s march towards greatness. “I feel very great. There is nobody that will come and grow our own economy more than us and that is why we are heavily investing because we believe it is our own economy, we believe in the country and we believe in the economic policy of Nigeria. That's why we are here to make sure that we bid and win,” he said.

He disclosed plans of the Consortium to expand the refinery. He, however, said before the Consortium bought the Port Harcourt Refinery, it had plans of building a refinery of 300,000 barrels per day in Lagos. “Really it is very criminal to be importing petroleum products of $9 billion when we are a producer and that is the main reason why we are here,” he said.

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