Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has said that fuel from his $19 billion refinery complex will soon be available across Nigeria and the world.
He disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Saudi-Nigeria business roundtable.
Alhaji Dangote further attributed the refinery’s delay in production to a desire to start refining with crude oil produced locally in Nigeria rather than importing the raw crude and that it already secured a license to refine 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
- In his words, “We don’t want to start our refinery with foreign goods, we want to start with the Nigerian crude, … We’re more than ready and you will see our gasoline products soon.”
He also noted that Nigeria will be the refinery’s primary market before exporting to the country’s neighbours in West Africa and the globe in general.
- He said, “The refinery’s first priority is to supply gasoline to Nigeria before exporting to elsewhere, including the West African region”
Backstory
The $19 billion Dangote refinery was commissioned barely weeks before former President Buhari’s exit from the Presidency. It was billed to begin production in late July or early August but has consistently missed deadlines.
The facility, with a daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels, is anticipated to generate 27 million litres of diesel, 11 million litres of kerosene, and 9 million litres of jet fuel.
Dangote, whose fortune is estimated at $16.2 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, mentioned that the crude for this facility will be sourced from various producers in Nigeria, including the NNPCL.
Although Nigeria is one of the biggest producers of crude oil in Africa, the country has had to resort to imports to meet its refined petrol demand and pay subsidies to keep the prices low. In May, President Tinubu ended the subsidy program which costs the country around $10 billion in 2022.
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Nigeria will only be “better” after years of serious-minded reforms.