President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, commissioned the Dangote Petroleum Refinery located in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.
OsunDaily News reports that the Nigerian leader inaugurated the illustrious project, which would produce 650,000 barrels per day, alongside five African Presidents.
The commissioning of the $19 billion facility is set to revolutionise crude oil refining in Africa and catalyse the transformation of Nigeria’s oil sector.
The landmark inauguration comes a decade after Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest businessman, announced plans for the refinery in September 2013, when he secured about $3.3 billion in financing for the project.
Earlier, the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said the new refinery will supply its first tranche of petroleum products to the market before the end of July.
The business tycoon stated that the project, which cost $19 billion, is said to be Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s largest single-train facility.
Speaking further, Dangote disclosed that the combined refinery and petrochemical complex will create 9,500 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs.
He added 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.
He said: “It is our firm commitment that we will replicate in this sector what we have actually achieved in the cement and fertilizer markets while Nigeria transformed from being the largest importer of these crude products to a net exporter,” 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, beginning of August this year.”
He added that the company will ensure that its plants are run at the highest capacity utilization and the highest efficiency to enable the refinery to export competitively to other markets.
He said 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).
Dangote asserted that once the plant is fully commissioned, it is expected that at least 40 percent of the capacity will be available for export, adding that it will result in significant foreign exchange into the country.
