Alhaji Aliko Dangote has stated that his 650,000 barrels per day refinery will spur the development of regional textile, plastic, and cosmetic businesses.
According to ThisDay, the billionaire recently gave an interview to The Economist Magazine for an article titled “The World Ahead 2023,” in which he discussed the refinery’s potential and its expected commissioning on May 22, 2023. Dangote declared:
- “The refinery’s completion will not only create direct and indirect jobs but also lead to skills transfer and technology acquisition opportunities that will benefit the downstream sector. Moreover, the refinery’s production of critical products like naphtha and polypropylene will stimulate the development of other industries, such as cosmetics, plastics, and textiles.
- “We see room for the development of added value in agribusiness too. Here, initiatives like our Sugar Backward Integration Projects look to create a strong localized supply in the sugar industry. With a goal to produce around 0.5 million tons of sugar per year from locally grown sugar cane, benefits will be created across the sugar value chain for local suppliers,”
According to Dangote, Nigeria has a variety of untapped natural resources that, for commodity-driven investors, offer options in the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.
Also, Dangote believes that Nigeria’s import dependency and reliance on foreign markets present major prospects for import substitution and supply chain localization. He stated that across various consumer-goods sectors of the economy, as well as supply-side needs for commercial and industrial enterprises, there are different options to set up localized supply networks.
In addition,the Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development, and Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, said the Dangote refinery would stimulate economic development in Nigeria because it could meet 100% of the Nigerian requirement for all liquid products.
These products include gasoline, diesel, polypropylene, kerosene, and aviation jet fuel. He also said the refinery can provide a surplus of each of these products for export. Edwin had said:
- “The high volume of petrol output from the refinery would transform Nigeria from a petrol import-dependent country to an exporter of refined petroleum products
In June 2022, investment management firm, Chapel Hill Denham released a report that stated that the Dangote refinery could help Nigeria fix its oil sector crises. The report stated:
- “We believe change is imminent, with the Dangote Refinery looking set to begin operation towards the twilight of 2023. If fully utilized, we believe the refinery can redefine Nigeria’s domestic production of white products (petrol, Automotive Gasoline Oil, AGO, and Dual-Purpose Kerosene, DPK). and potentially turn the country into a net exporter.”
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