Nigeria: Dangote refinery set to transform economy

The Dangote Group’s investment in oil and gas is set to transform the Nigerian economy from a single commodity market to a sustainable diversified economy – according to Chairman and founder, Aliko Dangote.

His mission is to reverse Nigeria’s import-dependency to self-sufficiency in commodities it has spent its earnings to import.

The Dangote oil refinery – currently under construction, and set for completion in late 2018 – is projected to create 60,000 direct jobs.
Describing the refinery as the largest single-train petrochemical facility in the world, Dangote said the crude oil processing factory is designed to refine 650,000 barrels per day.
The facility is completely designed for Nigerian crude oil, with flexibility to process products from other countries. In addition, Dangote is building Africa’s largest urea plant to with the capacity to produce 3 million tons of fertilizer per annum.

He said: “everything we are doing here is basically to transform the Nigerian economy. And it is not only to transform, but to also diversify our economy from single commodity market. We are taking a bold step through this petrochemical project to create values that would help us to achieve this aim.”

Noting that his business had grown from a commodity trading company to a diversified global conglomerate in the last two decades, Dangote said he was pumping huge resources into energy production and agriculture across west Africa to close the deficit in food production and export.

He added, that the Dangote Group’s East West Offshore Gas Gathering System (EWOGGS) Pipeline Project would unlock a significant amount of natural gas to address the country’s energy needs, which he said required billion of dollars annual investment.

Dangote Cement, a subsidiary of the Dangote group has made a similarly positive impact on the Nigerian economy. Dangote Cements’ investments in Nigeria have moved the country from import-dependency to self sufficiency in the commodity. The Dangote Group has mapped out strategies to re-create similar feats in agriculture, energy, construction, fertilizer and petrochemical sectors to drive economic growth in Nigeria.

On his expansion across Africa, Dangote said his brand had moved from commodity trading to energy production in Senegal. The company makes extra profits by selling excess energy it generates to local Senegalese communities at reduced rates.