Aliko Dangote (Left) and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Right)
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, is set to commission the largest vertically integrated petrochemical complex in the world; the Dangote Oil Refinery, on the 24th of January 2023.
Owned by Africa’s richest man and the richest black man in the world, Aliko Dangote, the refinery is situated in Lagos’ Lekki Free Zone. The refinery is said to have a daily processing capacity of 540,000 barrels of Nigerian crude oil.
The project which is valued at a whopping $19 billion, is a move that will help develop Nigeria’s petroleum downstream sector. The refinery is also expected to turn the nation into a net exporter of petrochemicals and refined petroleum products by 2026 and is a calculated move by Aliko Dangote and the Nigerian government.
When opened, the refinery is anticipated to supply all of the country’s needs for refined products and lower domestic costs, while leaving a surplus for export and opening up a market for $11 billion in petroleum products from Nigeria every year. According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the refinery will take on the onus of more than half of Africa’s future refining increases. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also attributes the refinery as the greatest addition of all additions projected across Africa in the long term. It also projects Africa’s medium-future distillations additions to come in at 1.2 million barrels per day.
On a daily basis, the facility will produce 3 billion standard cubic feet of gas, 65 million liters of motor spirits (petrol), 15 million liters of diesel, and 4 million metric tonnes of jet fuel.
The Dangote Refinery was slated to open last year but this was delayed by the late arrival of refinery equipment and disrupted supply lines as a result of issues such as a lack of access to foreign currency, the economic state, and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
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