President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says the company’s $2 billion petrochemical plant, when fully operational, would position Nigeria as one of Africa’s largest petrochemical hubs.
Dangote, in a statement yesterday, was quoted as saying that the 900,000 metric tons per annum capacity plant, built alongside the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, would boost Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings and ensure petroleum product sufficiency.
He said the plant would produce polypropylene to strategically cater for the demands of the growing plastic processing downstream industries, not only in Africa but in other parts of the world.
Dangote disclosed that the plant, reputed to be the largest single train greenfield petroleum refinery in the world, is at an advanced stage of completion.
There is a need to prioritize financing gas infrastructure, gas allocation to the domestic market, and adjustment of fiscal framework to make the supply of gas to the domestic market attractive for oil companies.
Upon completion, he said the plant is expected to export over eight million tons of petroleum products annually after meeting domestic consumption, while about 900,000 tons of polypropylene is also expected from the petrochemical plant.
Dangote emphasized the need for the government to unlock the potential of petrochemical exports by completing the OB3 Pipeline to make gas available to manufacturers.
“There is a need to prioritize financing gas infrastructure, gas allocation to the domestic market, and adjustment of fiscal framework to make the supply of gas to the domestic market attractive for oil companies,” he said.
Stressing the need for Nigeria to encourage non-oil exports, Dangote said the country’s non-oil export was quite low, compared to other African top oil producers.
He urged the Federal Government to build on the country’s competitive advantage to develop industries that are primarily geared toward exports.
