‘Dangote Refinery will create $11bn market for Nigerian crude annually’
By DANGOTE Petroleum Refinery will create $11billion per annum market for Nigerian crude because it is designed for 100 per cent Nigerian crude with flexibility to process others and it will meet 100 per cent daily Nigerian consumption of all refined products and also would have surplus for export.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune during an on-site inspection of the project in Lagos Free Trade Zone, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, GCON, stated that “the Refinery was designed 100 per cent to process Nigerian crude but with flexibility to process other crudes”
The Nigerian crude is graded as “Sweet” be cause it has lesser impurities when compared with other brands in the global market.
He said the Refinery and petrochemical projects include: world second largest Urea plant with capacity to produce three million tons per annum; the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in any country in the world, 1100 km, to handle three billion scuf of gas per day; world scale gas treatment stations; world class petrochemical complex; 480MW power plant and 500 KPTA polyethylene plant.
Currently, the projects employ 1500 direct Labour, 70000 indirect Labour, 100000 contractors on site and 10000 service providers.
On completion, the projects will create 100000 indirect jobs, 26716 filling stations and 129 depots in Nigeria. There will be ease of product availability and 26000 trucks for transport will also create additional jobs.
However, he said the largest single train refinery in the world, Dangote Refinery, will commence operations in April 2020 while the fertilizer plant will commence operation in April 2019.
According to him, “the projects will make Nigeria to become the largest exporters of fertilizers in Africa, largest exporter of petrochemicals and biggest exporters of refined petroleum products in Africa. Our gas pipeline project will transport 3billion standard cubic feet (scuf) per day of gas. I hope and pray that other Nigerians will join us in developing the country.”
On his part, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, commended Dangote for His resilience and dedication to create wealth.
“It may interest you to know that we expend one third of our total foreign exchange obligation to import petroleum products. When the fertilizer plant commences operation in April this year and the Refinery commences operation in April 2020, we will have a lot of savings from foreign exchange. In near future, we may be buying foreign exchange from Dangote,” he said.
Emefiele urged other private refinery licensees to develop capacity and steing will to build more refineries.
“I have not seen any licensee approach the bank for credit to build refinery. Remember, such licensee will approach his bank which will in turn assess his capacity to build such refinery and such request will be forwarded to CBN for approval. If they have the capacity, we will support them through their banks.
The Dangote projects include the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world with capacity to refine 650,000 bpd of crude oil; this means it can produce 57million litres per day of premium motor spirit (pms), otherwise call petrol per day; 11million litres per day of household kerosene, otherwise called kerosene per day; nine million litres of aviation fuel per day, and 27million litres of Automated Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise call diesel per day. These are in excess of what Nigerians consume per day.
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