Mixed Reactions As Buhari Commissions $19bn Dangote Refinery Today

Ahead of today’s commissioning of the Dangote Refinery, Sergius Ogun, a member of the House of Representatives says the multi-purpose refinery will not solve Nigeria’s fuel crisis.

Not a few Nigerians are expecting the over $19 billion oil refinery to solve the yearly fuel problems  experienced due to the importation of petrol and diesel, and other petrochemicals.

Ogun who spoke on Channels Television on Monday, just a few hours before the commissioning of the Refinery by President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed that it will be wrong for Nigerians to place their entire hope of regular and cheap fuel on the refinery.

According to information made available to the media by Dangote Refinery, other West African leaders such as President Nana Akufo Ado of Ghana among others are expected to attend the epoch-making commissioning by President Buhari on Monday.

In spite of the enthusiasm among Nigerians, Ogun a former member of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources said Nigerians should be cautious in putting their hope of fuel sufficiency on Dangote.

For instance, the lawmaker said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has not informed Nigerians whether it has started supplying crude oil to the refinery, and at what price.

Apart from this, Ogun said the refinery should have been test-run months before now to show Nigerians that it’s ready for production, adding that the rush to commission has political undertone.

The 650,000-barrel-a-day crude oil processing refinery is expected to provide fuel sufficiency and reduce the forex for fuel importation for the country by the time it commences work fully, but not a few experts say this may not be entirely so at the end of the day.

The federal government spent over $10 billion importing fuel into the country last year, this is expected to reduce as the Dangote Refinery commences production.

The refinery will also eliminate the yearly scarcity of petrol and diesel as a result of the importation of the products, while the pricing is also expected to be stable because of local production of the product which clearly will eliminate costs such as importation cost, landing costs, shipping costs, and so on, according to energy experts.

But many experts are very cautious of this optimism, saying the only guarantee the Dangote Refinery represents for Nigerians, is the provision of jobs for Nigerians who will work at the multi-purpose plant.

Figures obtained from the company owned  by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote indicate that at least 100,000 indirect and direct job opportunities will be provided by the refinery.

In its reaction to the potential of the Dangote Refinery, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN said, the Refinery could be the industrial renaissance the nation country needed at the moment.

According to the Director-general of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir said: “The refinery which is situated on land spanning approximately 2,635 hectares is the World’s Largest Single Train 650,000 barrels per day Petroleum Refinery with a 9000 KTPA Polypropylene Plant ever built.

“It is gratifying to note that the Refinery can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirement for all refined products (Gasoline, 57 million litres per day; Diesel, 27 million litres per day; Kerosene, 11 million litres per day and Aviation Jet, nine million litres per day) and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.

“Therefore, the coming onboard of the Dangote Refinery promises to bring to a pleasant end, the nightmare of long queues at petrol filling stations and the disruption of social and economic activities that come with it.”

He added that the refinery, when fully operational, is expected to generate $10 billion from the export of refined petroleum products and save Nigeria an estimated $10 billion in foreign exchange.

According to him, with State-of-the-art technology, the refinery is designed to produce with 100 per cent Nigerian Crude and the flexibility to process other crudes from Africa, Middle East, and US Light Oil.

“It has a Self-sufficient Marine facility with the ability for freight optimization. With the Largest Single order of 5 SPMs anywhere in the world, Diesel & Gasoline Products from the refinery will conform to Euro V Specifications. The refinery design complies with the World Bank, US EPA, European emission standards, and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent standards.

“To cushion the potential impact of increase in mean sea level due to global warming, the company took appropriate measures using the world’s largest, seventh and 10th largest dredgers to elevate the sea height by 1.5 metres.

“Dangote Group is one of the few companies in the world executing a Petroleum Refinery and a Petrochemical complex directly as an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contractor. Globally, apart from three companies, no individual owner has done the complete EPC Contract for a Petroleum Refinery,” he said.