How Dangote refinery will boost Africa’s economy

By Olushola Bello

Nigeria and other oil producing African countries will soon heave a sigh of relief from the sluggish economic conditions occasioned by price instability with the imminent completion of the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries in Nigeria.

Officials in Nigeria are certain that when the refinery begins operation, the country as well as Ghana, and many other African countries will benefit greatly from the facility.

Africa’s economic growth in 2018 will continue in 2019 with sub-Saharan Africa averaging 3.6 percent over the next 2 years, according to World Bank estimates.

Oil distributors in Ghana and other African countries have pledged patronage of oil importation from the Dangote refinery and arrangements have been made to ease the process.

Similarly, the Ghanaian government believes that it would be more profitable for African countries to import petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery instead of depending on international supplies which are more expensive and often influenced by factors such as currency fluctuations.

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, during a forum in Egypt disclosed that Ghana is optimistic about the outcome, and the country has projected a desirable outcome after the completion of construction of the refinery.

He added that the facility will bring relief to countries on the continent, which are suffering from sluggish economic conditions caused by price instability.

Chairman and founder of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote also disclosed that Dangote Petroleum Refinery will create a US$11 billion per annum market for Nigerian crude. According to Dangote, upon completion, the Dangote Refinery will meet 100 percent of Nigeria’s daily consumption of all refined products and would also have the surplus for export. The project will also boost job creation in Nigeria.

The technical adviser to the Chairman of the Dangote Group on Refinery and Petrochemicals, Babajide Soyode said that the completion of the refinery and other modular refinery projects in Nigeria would culminate in the integration of the downstream industries, lower cost of business and stabilize the prices of petroleum products across the African sub-region, in addition to boosting the value of the Naira.

He made this assertion during a panel session on ‘Refining, Transportation and Petrochemicals Forum’, at the just concluded 2019 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja. He thus emphasized the need for the federal government to fully deregulate the downstream sector.

He stressed the need for the federal government to allow the private sector run the downstream industry. “First of all, the refinery will save Nigeria from importation of refined products, providing the country with more than enough refined products for domestic use and export.

The Dangote Refinery is an oil refinery owned by the Dangote Group that is near completion in Lekki, Nigeria. When completed, it will be the 5th largest in the world with a capacity to process about 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Source: Leadership