The
Federal Government has pledged to support the 650,000 barrels per day capacity
Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Plant with crude oil feedstock and other
necessary inputs to the success of the project.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, made
this known during a tour of the Dangote Refinery being constructed by the
Dangote Group in Lagos.
He stated that the refinery will attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
into Nigeria upon completion, adding that the plant was a symbol of the
Nigerian success story.
The Minister who was accompanied on the facility tour by the Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele
Kyari, and other members of the Corporation’s Top Management, said it was
necessary to support the Dangote Refinery project to ensure its
successful completion in order to realise the Federal Government’s aspiration
of reversing the ugly trend of fuel importation.
“The Dangote Refinery is a very impressive project done by a Nigerian for
Nigeria”, the Minister enthused.
On his part, Mallam Kyari stated that NNPC was in the process of
establishing two new 200,000bpd Condensate Refineries to boost in-country
refining capacity.
He stated that upon completion, the Condensate Refineries, coupled with the
445,000bpd capacity of the existing refineries which are being refurbished, and
the 650,000bpd Dangote Refinery, would transform Nigeria into a net exporter of
petroleum products.
He added that these complementary efforts by the NNPC and the Dangote Group
would guarantee energy security for Nigeria.
Mallam Kyari reiterated that the national oil company was not in contest for
market share with the Dangote Refinery, but rather would provide support to the
project to boost in-country refining capacity.
“Our objective is to make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products and
you can only achieve that by complementing each other, both the public and the
private sector. We are going to do more and we actually need more of these
private sector refineries for Nigeria to become a net exporter of gasoline and
other associated products”, Mallam Kyari said.
Speaking in similar vein, the President of the Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko
Dangote, who was on ground to receive the Federal Government team, said
his group opted for the biggest refinery in the world because of his firm
belief in the Nigeria project.