The Federal Government has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as a key part of President Bola Tinubu’s plan to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy. The refinery’s owner also revealed that, at full capacity, the plant will match about 10 percent of the United States’ refining capacity.
Minister of State for Industry John Enoh made the remarks on Wednesday after touring the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery, Dangote Petrochemicals and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos with ministry officials, regulators and agency heads.
“You cannot be Minister in charge of Industry and not visit the Dangote Refinery,” Enoh said. “This facility matters because of what it represents for Nigerian industry, for our people and for the realisation of President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a one trillion-dollar economy.”
He said the refinery shows Nigeria is adding more value to its resources. “The more a country adds value to its products, the more respect it earns globally. The Dangote Refinery stands today as one of the strongest demonstrations of that principle,” he said.
Enoh said the refinery has helped Nigeria move from importing refined fuel to exporting it, including to the Middle East during recent supply disruptions. “When global supply disruptions occurred, Nigeria was able to export petroleum products to markets in the Middle East and beyond. That is an extraordinary achievement and one that deserves recognition,” he said.
He also defended the refinery’s single-train design, saying operations continued during planned maintenance. “The issues surrounding the single-train configuration are much clearer now. Even during scheduled maintenance, operations continued,” he said.
The government promised continued support through the Industrial Revolution Work Group and ministerial roundtables, with better financing for manufacturers. Enoh described Aliko Dangote as “Nigeria’s foremost industrialist” and linked his work to the Nigeria Industrial Policy. “We want to be judged by the extent to which we implement this policy,” he said.
Dangote urged the government to keep industrialisation at the centre of economic policy. “There is no way to create jobs and prosperity without industrialisation,” he said, adding, “When local investors thrive, they send a powerful signal that the environment is conducive for investment.”
He said a recent unsecured, unrated bond priced below Nigeria’s sovereign benchmark showed strong investor confidence. Dangote added that, at full capacity, the refinery will equal about 10 percent of US refining capacity and use about 2.5 percent of globally traded crude.
Calling the refinery the biggest business risk of his career, he said it was built through the pandemic, currency swings and lender doubts.
“What we have achieved here has never been done before on this scale,” he said. “Once one person succeeds, many others will be encouraged to follow.”
