Lagos, Nigeria – Billionaire Aliko Dangote don burst our brain with im latest plan for im refinery wey dey Lekki! Na serious upgrade be this one as e wan double di capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million bpd. E wan turn di place to di biggest refinery for di world, make Reliance Industries for India no go dey shine eyes for di title again.
In one interview wey e do with S&P Global, Dangote talk say e wan sell small stake of 5% to 10% on di Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. Dis move go help am gather more money wey go boost di refinery project. ‘We no wan hold more than 65% to 70%,’ he yarn. Na strategy wey work before for im cement and sugar businesses, so why not for fuel?
But make we face di matter well: di refinery don get some wahala lately. Dem slow down crude oil purchase because dem distributors dey give dem small gbege. Dem get some technical issues, especially with di residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) wey dey important for gasoline production. But no wahala, RFCC don restart and e go soon dey flex full capacity again.
Dangote say dem dey eye Middle Eastern firms for partnership, as dem dey look for way to finance di expansion and some new petrochemical project for China. ‘We go still do am for here,’ he maintain, ‘we don get di infrastructure already.’
Wet in we for see fit? A new second refinery fit land and dem dey plan to increase di production of polypropylene from 1 million metric tonnes to 1.5 million. E dey sweet as Dangote dey try lift Africa to dat high level without depending on imported fuel. He sabi say many African countries no get di capacity to build their own refineries.
Despite wetin di International Energy Agency dey yarn about oversupply by 2030, Dangote no gree shake. ‘Africa no fit dey dependent on fuel imports,’ he add, sabi how di market dey run.
As e be now, Dangote still dey figure out how to manage di market well, and di Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) dey hold small stake for di refinery. Dem fit increase their share later, no vex. E get as e get!
At di end of di day, dis expansion plan go change di energy landscape of Nigeria, and e go put di country for global map. Who for don know say oil matter fit turn to big palaver? But with Dangote, we dey expect better moves!
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