President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki region of Lagos state.
The 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery project, which cost $19 billion, is the Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s largest single-train facility.
The combined refinery and petrochemical complex will create 9,500 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs.
The refinery is also expected to enable Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in refined products and even have surplus for export.
Buhari, while speaking at the occasion attended by heads of state from Ghana, Togo, Niger, Senegal and a representative of the President of Chad, described the feat as a significant milestone for the nation’s economy and a game changer for the downstream petroleum products market in the entire African region.
He said that, ‘‘This mega industry we are commissioning today is a clear example of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs are encouraged and supported and when an enabling environment is created for investments and for businesses to thrive.
‘‘I am confident that my successor, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will sustain the improvement in our economic and business environment and strengthen the framework of our public private partnership policies to accelerate the pace of our economic growth and development.
‘‘I am happy to leave our economy in very competent hands,’’ Buhari added.
The president, who commended Aliko Dangote’s leadership in executing the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, urged other entrepreneurs to emulate his example in driving economic growth and realizing Nigeria’s economic potential.
He also stressed the need for African countries to come together, integrate their economies, eliminate trade barriers, and rally their populations to achieve Agenda 2063 for the continent’s prosperity.
Buhari said that, ‘‘I urge and encourage our other great entrepreneurs to emulate this iconic Nigerian industrialist and join the government in accelerating our growth in order to realize our country’s globally recognized economic potential.
‘‘When I travel around Africa and meet and engage my brother heads of state, I often sense a quiet expectation that our country is blessed with resources and human capacity to lead Africa’s rise to economic prosperity and the attainment of Agenda 2063 – ‘The Africa we all want.’
‘‘But to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, Africa must come together.
“We must integrate our economies, eliminate barriers to trade and energize our youthful population to scale up our productive capacity.
‘‘We must create necessary conditions for our private sector to grow and partner with the public sector to accelerate economic growth across the continent.
‘‘We must not allow outside powers to use some of our leaders to destabilize our economic and political trajectory,’’ he added.
President Buhari also acknowledged the visionary investments made by the Dangote Group, under the leadership of Dangote, in transforming Nigeria’s economy through its involvement in critical industries such as cement and fertilizer.
He noted that investment in these sectors have played a crucial role in shifting Nigeria from heavy import dependence to becoming a net exporter.
Similarly, Aliko Dangote, while speaking on Monday, said that the Dangote Refinery will supply its first tranche of petroleum products to the market before the end of July.
Dangote noted that the commissioning ceremony is the beginning of a great journey, adding that it is a milestone in a new and exciting trajectory for Nigeria’s oil and gas downstream sector.
“It is our firm commitment that we will replicate in this sector what we have actually achieved in the cement and fertilizer markets,” he said.
“Our first goal is to ramp up projections of various production to ensure that within this year, we are able to fully satisfy our nation’s demand for higher quality products to enable us to eliminate the tragedy of import dependency and stop, once and for all, the dumping in our market of toxic substandard petroleum products.
“Our first products will be in the market before the end of July and beginning of August this year.
”We have built a refinery with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day (plus 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene) in a single train, which is the largest in the world.
“We have selected the best plants and equipment and the latest technologies from across the world.
”Our products slate is designed to meet the highest quality standards and high-value products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel), Aviation Turbine Kerosine (ATK), all of Euro V Standards that will enable us not only meet our country’s demand but also to become a key player in the African and global market.
”Our coastal location and offshore loading and offloading (SPM) facilities with a capacity to receive all our crude oil supplies and evacuate up to 75 percent of our liquid products give us direct access to the rest of Africa and the global market for exports.
“In addition, 80 percent of our production can be discharged through trucks nationwide,” he added.
Dangote added that the huge investment of over $19 billion in this industry was prompted by the company’s desire to support and contribute its quota to the federal government’s sustained effort to transform the economy and reposition Nigeria as the leading nation in Africa, and a respected member among emerging economies in the world.
He further noted that the company will ensure that its plants are run at the highest capacity utilisation and the highest efficiency to enable the refinery to export competitively to other markets.
Dangote added that the operationalization of the refinery is a clear opportunity for Nigeria given the African Union’s commitment to the creation of an African common market through the recently established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Furthermore, the Dangote Group founder said that at least 40 percent of the plant’s capacity will be available for export, adding that it will result in significant foreign exchange into the country.
Comments