EKO HOT BLOG reports that Nigeria’s dream of becoming self-sufficient in refining crude oil has been given a lift with Dangote Group’s upcoming inauguration of its long-awaited refineries.
The Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is set to be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on May 22.
The move is a boost for the Nigerian government’s efforts to attain self-sufficiency in local refining of crude oil, which would help to save the scarce foreign exchange used in importing petroleum products.
The facility, located in Lagos, is the largest single-train refinery in the world and will be the largest refinery in Africa.
According to a source at the refinery, the plant has already been completed, with pre-inauguration tests underway.
Dangote Industries Limited, the parent company of the refinery, had earlier debunked reports that the project was among those scheduled for inauguration during Buhari’s visit to Lagos in January.
The Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Anthony Chiejina, had in a statement said: “However, our refinery will be commissioned before President Muhammadu Buhari formally leaves office in May 2023, and the public will be duly informed and invited to the epic event,” the company reportedly said in the statement.
The Dangote Refinery complex, which is located in the Lekki Free Zone area of Lagos, covers a land area of approximately 2,635 hectares, which is larger than the size of Victoria Island in Lagos.
The refinery’s pipeline infrastructure is the largest in the world, spanning 1,100 kilometres to handle three billion Standard Cubic Feet per day (Scf/d) of gas. The facility has a 435MW-capacity power plant that can meet the total power requirement of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
On completion, the refinery is expected to meet 100% of Nigeria’s refined products requirement and have a surplus of each of these products for export.
The project is estimated to create a market for $21 billion per annum of Nigerian crude oil.
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