Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is set to begin production of premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol.
Dangote Industries Limited’s Vice President for Oil & Gas, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, announced this during the tour of the refinery complex by the League of Engineering Bodies, including the National Society of Engineers (NSE), the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), the Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
Edwin said the company was preparing to roll out its petrol any moment but did not give a specified date.
Dangote had projected the rollout of its petrol for many specific dates but missed them.
Edwin said the commencement of petrol production would complement the current products at the refinery, stimulate local supply of the vital product to Nigerians, and save huge foreign exchange revenue for the country.
Answering questions on the state of the company, Edwin debunked speculations around its alleged monopoly tag.
The company’s vice president said someone had to start a project before others would follow.
He said: “Nigeria was one of the largest importers of cement. Then, we started manufacturing cement and then we became exporters; same thing applies to sugar, salt, and now fertiliser. This breakthrough opened the doors for other investors in those industries and Nigeria is better for it.
“What motivates Mr. Dangote is his sheer interest in the Nigerian project. It is true; that we are in business to make money but the question is: where is the money going to? Every money Dangote is making goes back to the Nigerian economy – from cement to salt, sugar, and fertiliser.
“The business strategy of Dangote Refinery is to minimise the energy cost and the overall cost of production; build the most environmentally friendly company; maximise value addition; maximise gasoline, which is in high demand with about 55 per cent of the production capacity, compared to 22 per cent of the existing refineries in Nigeria; strategically located marine infrastructure for crude receipt and product evacuation; state-of-the-art technology; produce Euro V products; provide crude flexibility and create market of $21 billion per annum of Nigerian crude”, Edwin said.
Addressing reporters on the state of affairs with the company, the Technical Consultant to Dangote Refinery, Babajide Soyode, said the visit of his professional colleagues made him “very proud”.
“I knew the project was a hard one, but Aliko Dangote is harder. He follows up on his passion. His corporate vision is to meet the needs of the people. It is the greatest honour of my life to be part of this project”, he said.
The League of Engineering Bodies in Nigeria hailed the huge scale of engineering structures at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals and Dangote Fertiliser Plant at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos State.
The 34th and first female President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Margaret Oguntala, described the facility as “mind-blowing”.
