Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrol Chemical plant will be a game changer for Nigeria once it comes on stream. The elated Minister in company of journalist who toured the facility for about four hours said “I am proud to be a Nigeria touring this facility built by a Nigerian”. He further said “based on what we have heard here today with regards to the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, officially know as The Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, the refinery would be a game changer once it comes on stream in terms of employment generation, huge value addition that will contribute to the increase in GDP, conservation of foreign exchange as there will be no more importation of petroleum products, generation of foreign exchange through export of finished product, availability of petroleum products thus ending petrol queues and attract foreign capital investments The total investments in the fertiliser plant is $2.5 billion while the total investment in the refinery is above $19 billion”
He said “we have just been taken on a tour of what is undoubtedly one of the busiest construction sites in the world, the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical plant. Before then, we visited the Dangote Fertiliser plant and then the Jetty. After visiting the facilities, one can conveniently say that Dangote is leading Nigeria’s industrial revolution. The coming into being of such massive industrial complexes as the Dangote Fertiliser Company and the Refinery were made possible by the enabling environment provided by the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Today, new businesses are springing up in all sectors, thanks to a conducive business environment. Under this Administration, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has implemented over 150 reforms, moving Nigeria up 39 places on the World Bank Doing Business index since 2016. Mr. President also signed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) – Nigeria’s most significant business legislation in three decades.
“The result of this favourable business environment is the birth of new businesses such as the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Plant that will produce 3 million metric tonnes of Urea every year; the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery due to open later this year; Lekki Deep Sea Port, one of the most modern sea ports in West Africa; BUA’s 3 million metric tonnes cement plant; and the 5,000 barrels per day Modular Refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State, and three more modular refineries to ben commissioned before May 2023 in Edo and Bayelsa states just to mention a few. Before this Administration came into office in 2015, Nigeria had a fertiliser shortfall of about 3.5 million tonnes per annum (over 6 million tonnes per annum are required in the country) Thanks to the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, indigenous companies like Indorama and Notore – with a combined capacity of over 2.5 million tonnes per annum. Yet there was still a fertiliser shortfall. With the coming on stream of the Dangote Fertiliser Plant, Nigeria is now self-sufficient in the production of urea.
In fact, Nigeria is now the leading producer of Urea in Africa The Dangote Fertiliser plant is already exporting to the US, India, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. We were fortunate to witness a ship being loaded with urea for export to Argentina. Gentlemen, based on what we have heard here today with regards to the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, officially know as The Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, the refinery would be a game changer once it comes on stream in terms of employment generation (How many will be employed), huge value addition that will contribute to the increase in GDP, conservation of foreign exchange as there will be no more importation of petroleum products, generation of foreign exchange through export of finished product, availability of petroleum products thus ending petrol queues and attract foreign capital investments Total investments in the fertiliser plant is $2.5 Billion Total investment in the refinery is above $19 Billion.”
Speaking earlier Dangote Group Executive Director Edwin said “The philosophy of the investments in the Fertiliser Plant, Petroleum Refinery and the Petrochemicals Plant is to overcome a problem which is several decades old- from the time when colonialists came to Africa to exploit and take out the raw materials and sell the finished products back to the continent. Even after the end of the colonial era, we can see how copper, cobalt, iron ore, uranium, diamond, etc. are all exported and the finished products are imported back into the continent. Even the diamonds from South Africa have to be taken to Netherlands or Belgium to cut and polish before being sold back to South Africa. In Nigeria, we have been facing a similar problem. We have two major resources – natural gas and crude oil. Our country’s natural gas is liquefied and exported and, finished products such as urea and other petrochemicals are being imported into the country. It is also the same case with the crude oil being exported and the finished products being imported back.
“As my chairman Alh. Aliko Dangote often says “We are exporting employment and importing poverty”. Hence, he decided to add value to these two resources – natural gas and crude oil, within Nigeria, by constructing the Fertiliser Plant and the Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Complex. The Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemical Plant and the Fertiliser plant will ensure: generation of huge direct and indirect employment; huge value addition within the country, thus contributing to the increase in the GDP; stopping the drainage of Foreign Exchange towards importation of the finished products. These two plants will ensure generation of substantial amount of Foreign Exchange, through export of finished products. The import substitution and export revenue will contribute very substantially to the stability of the currency. The petroleum refinery will ensure Fuel Security for the country and the fertiliser plant will contribute towards Food Security for the country. These two plants will ensure the constant availability of the products (often we run short of petroleum products and, the imported fertiliser always arrive at the wrong season/time).
“These two plants will ensure the availability of the highest quality products- all our refined petroleum products will be of Euro V grade, which is the highest quality available in the world today whereas, the petroleum products currently imported are of Afri-III grade or even lower. We used to import prilled urea whereas now we are manufacturing granulated urea which will not agglomerate/cake causing loss of value to the farmers. These massive investments in the country, especially by a Nigerian investor, will attract foreign capital investments into the country. (How will a foreign investor have the courage to come to the country to invest, if they see Nigerians shying away from investing in their own country?) We have always been pioneers. Our investment in the sugar refinery brought in two other investors into the sugar refinery business.
“Our investment in cement encouraged Lafarge to expand and BUA to invest in cement manufacturing. Long back, our investments in flour Mills and Pasta industries brought in many other investors into these industries. The above are a few of the benefits the country will derive, in addition to many other benefits. Total investments in the fertiliser plant is $2.5 billion and it is above $19billion in the Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemical Complex”.
