Dangote Refinery’s Completion To Make Naira Stronger

The successful completion of Africa’s biggest petroleum refinery and the world’s largest single-train facility is expected to have a significant impact on Nigeria’s foreign exchange through import substitution and substantial savings in earnings.

It is expected that once the refinery commences production, the pressure on the nation’s currency will reduce and significant inflow of forex, is expected to come in through sales from the refinery.

On completion of the refinery, it is estimated that Nigeria will import zero petroleum oil products; down from approximately $50 billion current oil product imports per year.

Also, Nigeria’s hopes of attaining self-sufficiency in domestic oil refining is hinged on the completion of the Dangote refinery. It will be one of the largest in the world and when fully operational, should in theory be able to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel requirements and trigger a positive ripple effect across other sectors of the economy.

Recently, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) disclosed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, upon which the hope of the nation rests for fuel sufficiency is now 97 percent completed. The agency has also commended the work done in the project.

“The refinery, with 650,000 barrels per-day installed capacity is expected to double the total output of Nigeria’s existing ailing refining infrastructure and meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products will pump out fuel any moment soon,” the agency declared.

The NMDPRA made this disclosure in Abuja when representatives of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery visit it in Abuja to present the work plan for the facility for 2022/2023 as the regulatory agency for the sector.

“Today, representatives of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals presented their 2022/2023 work plan to the Authority which showed that the refinery project is estimated to be at 97 per cent completion.

“Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility,” the NMDPRA said during the visit,” it said.

Chief executive of NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, reiterated the importance of the Dangote petroleum Refinery to the country while assuring that the Authority will give all necessary support to ensure timely completion and kick-start operations.

Speaking on the refinery project, Group executive director, Strategy, Portfolio Development & Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin said the refinery would stimulate economic development in Nigeria, adding that “it can meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all liquid products (Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene and Aviation jet), and also have surplus of each of these products for export.

“The high volume of petrol output from the refinery would transform Nigeria from a petrol import-dependent country to an exporter of refined petroleum products,” he stated adding that the refinery would produce Euro-V quality gasoline, diesel, jet-fuel, kerosene and poly-propylene for local consumption and also have surplus of each of the products for export,” he stressed.

On employment generation, he disclosed that, over 30,000 people are currently working at petroleum Refinery project sites through various contractors noting that when operational, the refinery will generate over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs for the youths.

On local content development, Edwin said, the company had trained over 600 artisans selected from the host communities in the areas of masonry, AC electricians, plumbing, welding, iron bending and auto mechanics.

The refinery design, according to the company, conforms to World Bank, United States (US), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Union (EU), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) standards.

The refinery has its own dedicated steam and power generation system with adequate standby units of reliable/uninterrupted utility supply to operating plants.435 Power plant in refinery.

“It also has self-sufficient marine facility with the ability for freight optimisation; the largest single order of 5 SPMs anywhere in the world; Crude SPM for unloading ships up to ULCCs; 3 product SPM for product exports up to Suez Max vessels and 2 X 48” subsea crude pipelines with interconnection.

“Dangote industries has developed a port and constructed quay with a loading bearing capacity of 25 tonnes/sq meters to bring Over Dimensional Cargoes close to the site directly to handle liquid cargoes. The jetty is situated at a distance of 12.3 km from the refinery thereby effectively reducing the travel time.

“Dangote Petroleum Refinery maintains high standards for all its business practices, valuing health, safety, environment and rights for its employees, compliances with all applicable local and international laws, and being a committed partner to communities, governments and the environment,” Edwin added.

Meanwhile, recently, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said completion of Dangote Refinery would transform the Nigerian economy from a net importer of refined petroleum products to a net- exporter of petroleum products.

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina recently described Dangote Refinery and Fertiliser projects as the best industrialised project to happen to Africa.

He said these projects, which are far beyond the expectation of his team and himself, would positively affect the economic growth and development of not only Nigeria but Africa as a continent.

Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.

The Pipeline Infrastructure at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometers to handle 3 Billion Standard Cubic Foot of gas per day. The Refinery alone has a 400MW Power Plant that is able to meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo.

The Refinery will meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export. Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a multi-billion-dollar project that will create a market for $11 billion per annum of Nigerian Crude. It is designed to process Nigerian crude with the ability to also process other crudes.