The Dangote refinery has revealed that it has exported premium motor spirit, otherwise known as petrol, to some African countries in the past few weeks. These include: Cameroon, Angola, Ghana, and South Africa.
A statement issued on Sunday by the company’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, said the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, made the disclosure as he hosted a delegation from the Japanese Business Community in Nigeria, led by Japan’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mr. Suzuki Hideo.
Chiejina quoted Edwin as confirming that products from the refinery meet international standards and are already being exported globally.
“In recent weeks,” Edwin said, “we’ve exported petrol to Cameroon, Ghana, Angola, and South Africa, among others. Diesel has gone all over the world, and jet fuel is being heavily exported to European markets. Our products are already making their mark internationally.”
The Vice President (Oil and Gas) of Dangote Industries Limited described the facility as a vision of a Nigerian investor – Aliko Dangote, designed and built by Nigerians, and intended to serve the global market.
Edwin enthused that it is a thing of pride that a Nigerian company not only designed but also built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex.
Dangote Industries Limited, Edwin further posited, acted as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor for the refinery, adding that cutting-edge technologies from around the world were incorporated to ensure that the facility meets the highest global standards.
He told the ambassador-designate and his delegation that the company was open to collaboration, always striving to maintain the best possible standards.
“Even now,” Edwin continued, “we have a lot of Japanese equipment both inside the refinery and the fertiliser plant. There are significant opportunities for collaboration, as we always seek the latest technology in any business we engage in.
“For instance, our cement plant laboratory is managed by robots, and we always embrace advanced technology. With Japan’s focus on technological innovation, there is ample scope for cooperation and for supplying various types of technology.”
The Dangote Industries Limited VP (Oil and Gas) was not done. He also informed the delegation that the Dangote Petrochemical project will significantly boost investment in downstream sector of the economy, creating substantial value, generating employment, increasing tax revenues, reducing foreign exchange outflows, and contributing to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
And by leveraging Africa’s vast crude oil resources to produce refined products locally, Edwin expatiated, the Dangote Group plans to create a virtuous cycle of industrial development, job creation, and economic prosperity.
Edwin reiterated that the refinery’s petroleum products were in high demand across the world, as it expands its polypropylene section to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported polypropylene, a crucial material used in packaging, textiles, and the automotive manufacturing industries.
Chiejina, in the statement, revealed that the Japanese delegation hailed the refinery and the petrochemicals complex, describing it as an astonishing masterpiece, showcasing Nigeria’s technological advancements on the global stage.
During the visit to the complex, the Japanese delegation toured the facilities housing both the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as well as Dangote Fertilisers.
The delegation commended the world class technology employed in the refinery complex, which they noted, reinforces Nigeria’s role as the gateway to Africa.