Abuja, Nigeria – The big man wey sabi business, Aliko Dangote, don drop serious gist wey plenty pipo dey yan. E talk say him refinery, wey dey process 650,000 barrels of crude oil a day, go soon double am to 1.4 million bpd! Na wetin? This one go make am the largest refinery for world, even pass Jamnagar refinery wey dey India, wey dey currently process 1.36 million bpd.
For correct interview wey e do with S&P Global, Dangote talk say dem plan to list 10 percent of the refinery shares by next year. (Na money dem wan chop, abi?) He make am clear say, “We no wan hold more than 65 percent to 70 percent o,” as he no wan dey too greedy.
Dangote, wey dey 68 years old, talk say African energy independence na wahala wey no be small, but e dey ready to put him money where him mouth dey. He say no government go ever wan drop money for this kind level, so na him go carry the load. “We go fit build this refinery again, but if we wan do am for another place, we go waste too much money on infrastructure. We don get everything wey we need here!”
Coming from this background, S&P Global dey predict say petrol imports for Naija fit double from 2026-2027, go reach 200,000 bpd by 2030, thanks to economic development and population wahala, wey come with better growth and na money wey dey go far!
Last July, Dangote don already start to plan to up the refinery from 650,000 bpd to 700,000 bpd by end of this year. Now, him come talk say the target na 1.4 million bpd, but he no talk when e go happen. E don even talk say engineers wey dey work for Lekki don design the place make e fit grow more.
Omo, this Dangote Group dey already generate twice the electricity wey dem dey use, so dem dey secure their operations well well against the light wahala wey dey disturb other pipo for Naija. Abeg, talk about expansion, some engineers dey suggest make dem build another refinery wey go dey like this one plus some extra fittings, to make sure e fit produce light ends wey dem sabi like am!
But no be only refinery matter dey worry Dangote, e dey also plan to grow his yearly polypropylene capacity from 1 million mt to 1.5 million mt for the next few years. E also dey push new projects for chemical production wey dey include linear alkylbenzene and base oils, so Omo, na serious business wey dey hungry him!
But Dangote no dey happy with the way Africa dey collect fuel from other countries. Him talk say many African governments no fit build refinery, and e call smaller projects like Angola’s Cabinda refinery “just a drop in the ocean.” C’mon, e get point o, because for some countries, interest rate dey reach as high as 30 percent, and the infrastructure? Zero!
As e be, Dangote don recently secure $4 billion financing agreement for August, so e fit push this expansion. But to make everything click, e dey consider partnership with Middle Eastern companies, so e no go dey carry all the load alone.
For next year, e go start to list between 5 to 10 percent of the refinery shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, just like how him do for Dangote Cement and Sugar. E also dey keep doors open for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) go increase their stake if dem fit come talk later.
But no be all sunshine; the refinery get some problems. One of their main petrol engine don go offline, and dem say maintenance dey go on. Anyway, em don start again since October 7 and dey talk say soon, everything go dey ok again.
But no forget say this expansion no dey easy, as the refinery dey face some wahala like employee sabotage, wey cause 800 workers to get sacked and labour unrest. But as government don come settle matter, Dangote promise to find new jobs for all the workers wey dem sack, so dem go still fit chop abeg.
As the refinery dey plan big moves, e dey very possible say crude oil supply go turn wahala again. But with new agreement wey Dangote don make with NNPC, dey go fit supply crude oil exchange for refined products. Plus, his upstream assets for Niger Delta don dey ready to start production this month, contributing 40,000 bpd to dem refinery feedstock.
With all these plans and expansions, Dangote dey show say him no dey slack. E dey ready to change Africa’s energy landscape big time, and everybody go dey watch as dis kain investments dey unfold. Na so e be, Omo, Naija go dey shine!
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