Energy
All hail Nigeria as $18.5b Dangote refinery produces first products in July
…Ghana, Niger, Togo, Senegal other presidents laud project
…They doubted our power to succeed in this project, says Emefiele
inauguration of the world largest single train refinery – Dangote refinery has finally launched Nigeria into the comity of fuel exporting nations.
President Mohammed Buhari yesterday commissioned the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery to turn around the fortunes of the country from a crisis-ridden fuel economy to a major petroleum exporter.
The new refinery, according to Dangote can meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products (Gasoline, 53 million litres per day; Diesel, 34 million litres per day; Kerosene, 10 million litres per day, and Aviation Jet, 2 million litres per day) and also have surplus of each of these products for export.
The $18.5 billion refinery is expected to roll out first product into the market before the end of July this year.
It has been estimated that the refinery would add about $21 billion (N9.7 trillion at the current exchange rate) yearly to the Nigerian economy.
The refinery is laced with a 435 megawatts (MWs) power plant, which is said to have the capacity to meet the total power requirement of five states.
The facility has 177 tanks of 4.742 billion-litre capacity, while the temporary housing units on the premises can house 33,000 persons.
Sitting on 2,635 hectares of land located in Dangote Industries Free Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, and will provide employment to over 100,000 persons.
At the ceremonious event, which threw the city of Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos State agog yesterday, several African head of states applauded the feat, describing it as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s economy and a game changer for the downstream petroleum products market in the entire African region
President Buhari was accompanied by his counterparts from Ghana, Niger, Togo, Senegal, and Chad (represented).
He described the project as a clear example of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs are encouraged and supported and when an enabling environment is created for investments and for businesses to thrive.
He said:‘‘I am confident that my successor, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will sustain the improvement in our economic and business environment and strengthen the framework of our public private partnership policies to accelerate the pace of our economic growth and development.”
He stressed the need for African countries to come together, integrate their economies, eliminate trade barriers, and rally their populations to achieve Agenda 2063 for the continent’s prosperity.
President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the project was initiated with a vision to produce, consume and promote self sufficiency in the basic needs of Nigerian people, while competing globally in areas of the nation’s comparative and competitive advantage.
He said: “We entered the market boldly with a vision to invest in a greenfield refinery that will transform the industry in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. And that is why we went for the biggest refinery ever built in the world”.
He said the state of the art technology and scale in capacity of the facility would be a game changer in Africa and the global market.
“We have built a facility with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil, plus 900,000 metric tons of polypropylene in a single train, which is the largest build ever. We have selected the best plant and equipment and the latest technology from across the globe,”he stated.
Dangote, who patiently appreciated everyone that has impacted in the project, said “the products slate is designed to meet the highest quality standards of high-value products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel), Aviation Turbine Kerosine (ATK); all of Euro V Standards that will enable it not only meet our country’s demand but also to become a key player in the African and global market,”
He said the “first products from the refinery would be in the market before the end of July this year”.
He noted that 80 per cent of the production could be discharged through trucks nationwide.
According to him, the refinery operation and ancillary businesness will generate massive job opportunities, while the downstream value chain will equally provide far more absorptive capacity for labour in hundreds of thousands.
He emphasised that, “once our plant is fully onstream, we expect that at least 40per cent of the capacity will be available for export and this will result in significant foreign exchange inflows into the country”.
Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mele Kyari, assured that the company would continue to support investment in domestic refining to satisfy growing demands.
“We are committed to continue to add value here at home from the extractive industries in order to maximize benefits and value to all Nigerians. The NNPC limited will continue to support investment in domestic refining to satisfy growing demands for reform that will produce in what local or regional markets as against simply exporting unprocessed crude to diminish in markets overseas.
Governor, Central Banks of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele said the project has re-written Nigeria’s history on a trajectory of growth.
He said some foreigners doubted the project at initial stage, but it has now become a reality.
“They doubted our powers to succeed in the project. They believed that project of such are only undertaken by sovereign and not individual, but today we have proved that we have capacity. Today, history is made in Nigeria,” he said.
President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Elect, Kashim Shetima congratulated Dangote for his courage and reseilence in bringing the huge project to fruition.
He assured that the incoming administration will do everything to sustain the tempo of the project.
President of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo, said Dangote refinery makes Africa better and stronger.
He said African nations must add value to their resources and not transmit them in raw form, as this would further aid the economy ascend to the level of advanced countries.
President of Senegal, Macky Sall, said the Dangote group has been part of African solution for several years.
He stressed the need for more investment into power sector in order to give sustainable electricity to African people.
Mr Tayo Aduloju, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), says with targeted approaches, Nigeria can still meet some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators.
Aduloju said this on Friday in Abuja, at a news conference to announce the Policy Innovation Center’s (PIC) annual Gender and Inclusion Summit.
According to him, though Nigeria is not on course to meet the SDGs target set for 2030, there are few indicators it can reach because as there are 17 SDGs with 169 targets and indicators.
“I would say right now we are not on course to reach anyone, but we can still achieve some milestone going forward.
“For example, we can turn around birth registration in 12 months; there are a few other indicators that I think Nigeria can reach.
“We have recommended a mother and child compact between the Federal Government and the Minister of Health and Social Welfare seems willing to push it.
“This is because we think that if we met those ones, some of the SDGs will be met automatically,” he added.
According to Aduloju, there is a parallel relationship between multi-dimensional poverty and gender inequality, with countries performing poorly on the Global Gender Report also exhibiting high severe multi-dimensional poverty.
He said that multi-dimensional poverty encompasses deprivations in health, education and living standards.
“The World Bank points out significant gender disparities in labour participation in Nigeria, with about 65.5 per cent of men participating compared to around 52.1 per cent of women.
“The National Bureau of Statistics indicates that about two-thirds of Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor, lacking income and basic amenities like healthcare, education, and clean cooking fuels,” he said.
He added that conflict, climate change, inflation, and increasing food prices were among the pathways contributing to the rise in high food insecurity and malnutrition rates.
He, however, said that the solution remains a collective effort by all stakeholders to tackle the issues as it could no longer be achieved by government alone.
On her part, the Executive Director, PIC, Mrs Osasuyi Dirisu, said that Nigeria was facing unprecedented times owing to a weak and non-inclusive economy, volatile macro-economic environment, security challenges and weak economic competitiveness.
She, however, said that addressing poverty in Nigeria could not be business as usual.
“Ending poverty and reducing inequality are part of the SDGs and a wide range of approaches have been identified to reduce poverty and inequities.
“To design effective poverty reduction programs, it is important to understand pathways to poverty, evidence based approaches that work and linkages to multi-sectorial inequities.
“We need to identify what works for poverty reduction in Nigeria and sustain the commitment to poverty reduction by intentionally designing and implementing contextually relevant solutions driven by a policy enabling environment,” Dirisu said.
Speaking about the summit, she said that it would hold from Sept. 4 to Sept. 5 with “Reimagining Gender-Inclusive Pathways and Partnerships for Poverty Reduction” as theme.
She said that the summit was expected to explore the impacts of multi-dimensional deprivations on health, education, livelihood, and living standards.
Conceptualised in 2022, the summit is an annual event to provide an inclusive platform to explore transformative ways to advance gender equity, inclusion and gender-responsive governance in Africa.
The 2024 summit is expected to leverage the collective power of government, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector, highlighting the importance of strategic partnerships for inclusive development.
PIC, an initiative of NESG is an institutionalised behavioural initiative in Africa supporting the delivery of better policies and innovative solutions for social impact.
Chevron Nigeria Ltd. has restated commitment to its partnership with Nigeria in ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient operations in the country.
Chevron’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Mr Esimaje Brikinn, made this known in a statement on Friday.
Brikinn said also that the company remained committed to delivering affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy supply that was critical to the development of the Nigerian economy.
“At Chevron, we believe oil and gas will remain a viable component of the energy mix.
“The company believes that the future of energy is lower carbon even as it continues to add incremental volumes to its oil production, and support gas development in a clean manner, “ he said.
The manager said that over the years, Chevron had encouraged the participation of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry.
He said that the company, working with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, continued to foster competence and competitiveness among Nigerian indigenous contractors and suppliers.
According to him, the company does this by adopting the participatory-partnership model.
“Chevron Nigeria believes that by investing in local communities, we can create a sustainable future for all.
“Our local content strategy is focused on three key pillars: capacity building (training, mentoring among others), local procurement, and social investment (community development projects mainly in health, education and economic development), “ he said.
Recently , the company was awarded the Best Exhibitor award at the 2024 edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week conferences and exhibition held on July 3 in Abuja.
Nigeria’s debt to petrol traders has surpassed $6 billion, doubling since early April, as the state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), struggles to cover the gap between fixed pump prices and international fuel costs, according to six industry sources.
This is according to a report by Reuters on Thursday, which tracks data on international petrol prices.
Sources confirmed to the American media outlet that NNPC has capped the pump prices of petrol shortly after the removal of subsidy in May 29, 2023.
The cap on fuel prices has resulted in stability at the pump despite increases in international crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira against the dollar.
This situation has led many to speculate that the government might have reinstated some form of petrol subsidy, given the discrepancy between market prices and the steady price of the commodity.
According to data from Reuters, NNPC began facing difficulties early this year when late gasoline payments exceeded $3 billion.
The company has yet to pay for some January imports, with traders stating that the late payments now amount to between $4 billion and $5 billion.
Under the terms of their contracts, NNPC is required to pay within 90 days of delivery.
“The only reason traders are putting up with it is the $250,000 a month (per cargo) for late payment compensation,” one industry source said.
At least two suppliers have already stopped participating in recent tenders after reaching their self-imposed debt exposure limits to Nigeria, the sources said.
This means they will not send more gasoline until they receive payments.
The tension to reconcile the international landing cost of petrol and the fixed price of N617 has deepened the debt of NNPC to the traders, the sources confirmed.
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