No More Importation: Aliko Dangote Speaks on Its Refinery Plans, Gives Nigerians Hope

No More Importation: Aliko Dangote Speaks on Its Refinery Plans, Gives Nigerians Hope

  • Aliko Dangote has announced that Nigeria will no longer need to import to meet its energy needs
  • The richest man in Africa said that his Dangote Refinery has the capacity to meet all of Nigeria's needs, including those of West African countries
  • The NNPCL has relied heavily on importation over the years to ensure Nigerians have fuel to buy due to non-working refineries

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man and the visionary behind the Dangote Refinery, has given Nigerians a reason to hope for more stable and possibly lower fuel prices.

Speaking at Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali on Friday, May 17, 2024, he said Nigeria will no longer need to import petrol starting next month.

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Dangote refinery to end importation
Dangote refinery raises hope of Nigerians Photo credit: Bloomberg contributor
Source: Facebook

According to him, his refinery located in Lagos can meet not only Nigeria's but also West Africa's petrol and diesel needs, as well as the entire continent's aviation fuel demand.

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Dangote laid down refinery plans

Dangote Refinery has already commenced the sale of diesel and aviation fuel, which has led to price crashes for these products.

Dangote has now hinted that the refinery is ready to release its Premium Motor Spirit(petrol) for marketers to buy.

His words:

“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre.
“We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico.

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“Today, our polypropylene and our polyethene will meet the entire demand of Africa and we are doing base oil, which is like engine oil, we are doing linear benzyl, which is raw material to produce detergent. We have 1.4 billion people in the population, nobody is producing that in Africa.
“Our refinery is quite big, it is something that we believe that Africa needs. If you look at the whole continent, there are only two countries that don’t import petroleum products which is a tragedy. They are only Algeria and Libya. The rest are all importers,”
“So, all the raw materials for our detergents are imported. We are producing that raw material to make Africa self-sufficient.
“Within the next three to four years, Africa will achieve self-sufficiency in fertilizers. We are currently producing three million tonnes of urea, and within the next twenty months, we will double our production to six million tonnes, matching Egypt's entire urea production capacity. Our goal is to ensure that Africa no longer needs to import fertilizers, including potash, phosphate."

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Punch reports that Dangote also went further to outline the plans for the company in the nearest future.

He said:

"Five years ago, we envisioned a dream: to increase our revenue from five billion to thirty billion dollars. Today, that dream is a reality. With the completion of our refinery, we have achieved what seemed impossible.
"In February, we commissioned the refinery, and we are already producing jet fuel and diesel. Next month, gasoline production will commence. This milestone means that we will not only be utilizing a significant portion of African crude oil but also supplying not just Nigeria but also West Africa, Central Africa, and South Africa.
"Our capacity is enormous, at 650,000 barrels per day. Additionally, we are producing 1 million tonnes of polypropylene and 590,000 tonnes of carbon black, which is used in various industries. This is just the beginning.
"In the next phase, starting early next year, we plan to expand further, building on this success."

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Dangote reduces diesel prices again

Legit.ng previously reported that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has again announced a further reduction in the price of diesel to N940 and N980 per litre.

However, Dangote stated that the price change applies only to customers purchasing 5 million litres or more from the refinery, while N970 applies to customers buying 1 million litres or more.

This adjustment comes just two weeks after Nigerians celebrated the reduction in price to N1,000 per litre.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.