Dangote Group, a leading business conglomerate on the African continent, has denied wide reports that the commission date for its refinery has been set.
Several media outlets had reported that the Dangote refinery would commence operations on 24th January.
However, according to Timilehin Oyedare of Dangote Group’s Digital Communications Unit, Corporate Communications said that the quoted source in the reports are fake and the date of the commissioning has not been set.
Some of the media outlets that reported the supposed event have already deleted the post.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that there the refinery is 97 percent completed.
Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed disclosed this development when representatives of the Dangote Refinery visited him in his office recently in Abuja, FCT, to present the work plan of the facility for 2022/2023.
Ahmed as well reiterated the importance of the Dangote Refinery to the country, as he assured that ‘The Authority’ (as the agency is regarded) would give all necessary support to ensure timely completion and kick-start operations.
Dangote Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex is located at Ibeju-Lekki, in the Lekki Free Zone, in Lagos State of Nigeria.
The total cost of building the refinery is put at over $19 billion and the facility is regarded as one of the biggest in Africa.
The Dangote refinery is positioned to produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene, and will likely generate 4,000 direct and 145,000 indirect jobs, a report said.
In terms of immediate benefits of the refining facility to the Nigerian energy consumers, the new refinery is expected to double the West African country’s refining capacity, and help in meeting the increasing demand for fuels, while providing cost and foreign exchange savings.
It is estimated to have an annual refining capacity of 10.4 million tonnes of petrol.
