By Habeeb Ibrahim
Nigeria is set to become self-sufficient in fuel production by June, according to Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the Dangote Group.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Dangote revealed that the Dangote Refinery will put an end to Nigeria’s reliance on imported gasoline. “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline, and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” he said.
The refinery, which was commissioned in February, has the capacity to meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand.
Dangote expressed optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape, stating that the continent has the potential to become self-sufficient in the energy sector.
“As I said, give us three or a maximum of four years, and Africa will not, I repeat, not import any more fertilizer from anywhere. We will make Africa self-sufficient in potash, phosphate, and urea; we are at three million tonnes and in the next twenty months, we will be at six million tonnes of urea, which is the entire capacity of Egypt. We are getting there.”
Dangote highlighted the progress made by the oil company, including the production of polypropylene and polyethylene, which will meet the entire demand of Africa.
The company is also producing base oil, linear benzyl, and other raw materials, making Africa self-sufficient in these areas. “Today, our polypropylene and our polyethylene will meet the entire demand of Africa, and we are doing base oil, which is like engine oil; we are doing linear benzyl, which is raw material to produce detergent. We have 1.4 billion people in the population, and nobody is producing that in Africa.”
Dangote emphasized that Africa has the potential to become self-sufficient in fertilizer production, with the company’s urea production capacity set to increase from three million tonnes to six million tonnes in the next twenty months.
This will make Africa self-sufficient in potash, phosphate, and urea. Since the commissioning of the refinery, Dangote Group has achieved significant milestones, including the production of jet fuel, diesel, and soon, gasoline.
The refinery’s capacity is too big for Nigeria alone and will supply West Africa, Central Africa, and South Africa. “We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico,” he said.
Dangote acknowledged the challenges faced in building the refinery, including pushback from those accustomed to the status quo.
