Without doubt, it is one of the largest oil refinery plants in the world. The Dangoté Group’s brand new refinery, which was announced a long time ago, will start processing crude oil in the third quarter of 2022. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, the massive project is expected to reduce African oil imports to 36% of regional demand, down from 43% currently, according to the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO).
The inauguration of the giant oil refinery plant of Africa’s richest man has once again propelled the continent into industrialization. During a press conference on 22 January, in the company of the AfDB chairman, Aliko Dangoté announced the operationalisation of the industrial complex by the end of the third quarter of this year.
19 billion dollars for an industrial mega-installation
Indeed, this masterpiece is an integrated facility that will include a petrochemical complex of 80,000 tonnes per year in addition to the 650,000 barrels per day that will be processed there. According to the billionaire, this refinery is capable of fully meeting Nigeria’s refined product needs and even sufficient to serve the export market both on the continent and internationally. This is a timely addition to the four oil refineries that the country already has. It is estimated that Nigeria will no longer import any petroleum products by 2023, compared to the current level of about $50 billion in imports per year.
“We appreciate the support of the Nigerian government, our donors and development finance institutions such as the African Development Bank, without which we would not have been able to achieve this level,” said CEO Aliko Dangoté. During a visit to the site in Lekki, Lagos, Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina, chairman of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the facility would be a game changer for industrialisation and regional integration in Africa. In addition, the AfDB chief described the Dangoté Group’s oil refinery and petrochemical plant projects as a “revolutionary initiative” that will boost Africa’s development.
Furthermore, to support the ambitions of the wealthy man from the African continent, the financial institution granted a loan of more than 300 million dollars to the company out of the 19 billion dollars committed for the construction. After breaking records in the fields of food processing, real estate and cement production, the Dangoté Group has just established itself in oil refining.
Huge profits for Nigeria
The implementation, planned a little earlier, was often postponed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The construction phase alone is expected to create 38,000 jobs. According to figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the refinery will generate 9,500 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs. The other news is that the Nigerian government is expected to save $7.5 billion in foreign exchange each year. In addition, the complex has modern infrastructure and over 50,000 housing units under construction, shopping centres, schools and hospitals. With this project, the Nigerian philanthropist intends to meet Nigeria’s demand for fuel and become the continent’s largest producer of black gold.