President Muhammadu Buhari will commission Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals in a historic occasion that would favorably reshape Nigeria's oil and gas sectoral landscape along with his colleagues from Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Niger, and Chad.
Today, May 22, Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, is expected to commission the Dangote Refinery.
Over 100,000 people will be employed by the oil refinery, which can process 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is situated on 2,635 hectares of land in the Dangote Industries Free Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The start-up of the massive project is anticipated to signal Nigeria's departure from the league of oil-rich countries that are major importers of petroleum products.
Apart from foreign dignitaries, Presidents of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Ghana's Nana Akufo-Addo, Senegal's Macky Sall, Niger Republic's Mohamed Bazoum, Chad's Mahamat Déby, and a host of ambassadors are anticipated at the historic event. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who will not be physically present, will nevertheless convey his message of goodwill virtually.
As of the time this report was filed, all 36 state governors and the majority of governors-elect, as well as ministers, senators, and heads of industries in Nigeria and abroad, as well as major international bankers and multilateral organizations, had expressed a readiness to attend the ceremony.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the incoming president of Nigeria, is anticipated to attend the ceremony. He created the Ibeju-Lekki Free Trade Zone in 2002 while serving as governor of Lagos.
The Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, may provide the urgently required industrial rebirth, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
MAN congratulated the president and management of the Dangote Group on the completion and anticipated commissioning of its petroleum refinery, which is being opened today in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
Segun Ajayi-Kadir, MAN's director general, stated that the refinery, which occupies a plot of land measuring roughly 2,635 hectares, is the largest single-train petroleum refinery in the world, capable of processing 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and the largest polypropylene plant ever constructed, with a capacity of 9000 KTPA.
“It is gratifying to note that the Refinery can meet 100 percent of Nigeria’s requirement for all refined products (Gasoline, 57 million liters per day; Diesel, 27 million liters per day; Kerosene, 11 million liters per day and Aviation Jet, nine million liters 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.â€
The refinery, he continued, is anticipated to save Nigeria an estimated $10 billion in foreign money and generate $10 billion from the export of refined petroleum products once it is fully operational.
He claims that using cutting-edge technology, the refinery is built to generate 100% Nigerian crude oil while also having the ability to process other crudes from Africa, the 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 meters.
“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 pointed out.
According to Ajayi-Kadir, the Refinery employs the most people of any private enterprise in Nigeria, with 100,000 of them working in retail shops, 26,716 gas stations, and 129 depots.
He continued by saying that the 16,000 transport vehicles will generate more jobs, and in the process, the company has trained over 400 artisans in the fields of carpentry, plumbing, welding, iron-bending, and plumbing who were chosen from the host communities.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery's commissioning is noteworthy since it marks the first time a refinery of this size constructed by a single person has been put into operation.
The petroleum refinery built by Dangote is anticipated to satisfy the demands of consumers in Nigeria and its neighbors while also enabling exports outside of Africa. As more than 50 nations in the trading bloc depend on imported refined petroleum products, the refinery will be the driving force behind the promotion of the African Continental Free trading Area (AfCFTA).
According to the Facts Sheet on Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the new refinery can produce more than enough of each of these products for export in addition to meeting 100% of Nigeria's demand for all refined products (including 53 million liters per day of gasoline, 34 million liters per day of diesel, 10 million liters per day of kerosene, and 2 million liters per day of aviation jet fuel).
“The refinery is designed for 100 per cent Nigerian Crude with flexibility to process other crudes. It has self-sufficient marine facilities with ability for freight optimisation, and the largest single order of 5 SPMs anywhere in the world. Diesel and Gasoline Products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.
“The refinery design complies with World Bank, US EPA, European emission norms and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms. State-of-the-art technology. Designed to process a large variety of crudes including many of the African Crudes, some of the Middle Eastern Crudes and the US Light Tight Oil,†the Facts sheet added.
It also stated, “65 Million Cubic Meters of sand dredged costing approximately Euros 300 million, using the world’s largest, the second largest and the tenth largest dredgers to elevate the height by 1.5 meters, to insure against any potential impact of increase in mean sea level due to global warming. Bought over 1,209 units of various equipment to enhance the local capacity for site works.
“332 cranes to build up equipment installation capacity. Built the world’s largest granite quarry to supply coarse aggregate, stone column material, stone base, stone dust & material for break water. (10 million tonnes per year production capacity).
“Developed a port and constructed two quays with a load bearing capacity of 25 tonnes/ sq meters to bring Over Dimensional Cargoes close to the site directly. The company also constructed two more quays in the port with a capacity to handle up to Panamax vessels to export the fertilizer and the petrochemicals and two quays to handle liquid cargoes. The port will thus have six quays, including a Roll-on/Roll-off quayâ€, the sheet added.