Aliko Dangote says the first product of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals “will be in the market before the end of July, beginning of August this year”.
The President of Dangote Industries Limited stated this while giving the welcome address at the inauguration of the 650,000 bpd refinery in Lagos State on Monday.
“Beyond today’s ceremony, our first goal is to ramp up production of the various products to ensure that within this year, we’re able to fully satisfy our nation’s demand for higher quality products,” he said.
According to him, the accomplishment is to enable Nigeria to eliminate what he described as the tragedy of import dependency and stop — “once and for all” — toxic, substandard petroleum products from being dumped in Nigeria’s market.
“Beyond this, we intend to ensure that our plants are run at the highest capacity of utilisation and the highest efficiency to enable us to export competitively to other markets, especially in the ECOWAS and wider regions in which 53 countries out of 55 are dependent on imports to meet their petroleum products demand,” he added.
The billionaire businessman said the project was the realisation of a “clear opportunity” for Nigeria, citing the African Union’s commitment to the creation of an African common market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The facility is expected to produce Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), diesel (Automotive Gas Oil), aviation jet fuel and Dual-Purpose Kerosene (DPK), among other refined products.