By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Zambian authorities have approached the Dangote Petroleum Refinery (DPR), to partner with the country to provide energy solutions for its people.
The request, among a series of such requests from foreign interests, followed a visit of Zambian energy experts to the Dangote Refinery, led by its Minister of Energy, Makozo Chikote, according to a statement from the refinery.
Speaking after a tour of the Refinery complex at the Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Ibeju Lekki, Mr. Chikote was said to have expressed satisfaction and readiness to work with the African manufacturing giant.
He was quoted as saying: “This refinery is not only for Nigeria; it is for Africa. We must sustain the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal. We are trying to see how we trade with other African countries.”
The Dangote complex, with a Single Point Mooring to the Dangote Jetty, is reputed as the biggest fertiliser plant in Africa, and the 650,000bpd largest single-train refinery in the world.
Expatriating on the offer for a partnership, the Energy Minister added, “In Zambia, we created an environment for the private sector to participate in the growth and development of our country. Currently, 100 per cent of our petroleum is done by the private sector.
“We are targeting increased productivity in mining, agriculture, and other sectors. Your presentation is an immediate solution to our energy needs. We are trying to promote competition among our private players
“We are looking at Dangote coming on board, which would lead to efficient, reliable, quality, and competitive products, and we want these done like yesterday.”
“Coming to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, we have learned so many advantages of bringing many players for competition, which has improved the lives of the citizens.”
According to him: “From what we have seen, we need to promote trade within Africa to promote each other. We need these countries together to make Africa efficient, and a reliable trade hub.
“We have seen here that we can learn from what Dangote has done, and this would lead Africa and Africans to stand on their feet and not depend on overseas support in terms of trade.”
Private sector initiatives
Another member of the Zambia delegation, Samuel Maimbo, the Vice President of Budget, Performance Review, and Strategic Planning at the World Bank Group, presently campaigning for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), explained that there is not enough development aid to develop Africa.
“There is also not enough government funding to develop Africa. The only way we can finance Africa’s growth at a pace and scale that solves our problem is by working through the private sector, which is why we are here today, to learn and to see what an ambitious programme looks like,” he stated.
We have seen here that we can learn from what Dangote has done, and this would lead Africa and Africans to stand on their feet and not depend on overseas support in terms of trade.
Earlier, President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, had revealed that the Dangote Refinery – has enough Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol in storage to sufficiently meet the local needs of Nigeria.
According to Mr. Dangote, the oil refinery has “more than half a billion litres of petroleum and over N600 billion worth of products in its tanks.
Dangote said: “…as we speak right now, we have more than half a billion litres. The Refinery is producing enough refined products, like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirements.
Also commenting, the Vice President, DIL, Edwin Devakumar, said the Refinery produces the best quality products as its core business strategy.
“The project concept was to process the crude from Nigeria and add value. But we also wanted to provide some flexibility to process most of the African crudes and some of the Middle Eastern crudes,” Mr. Devakumar said.
He added that, “The Refinery can meet all our requirements. The 44 per cent can meet the entire requirements of Nigeria, and 56 per cent of the production would be exported.
“Every day, we produce lighter products of 104 million litres; 57 million litres of petrol every day; 20 million litres of jet fuel; and 27 million litres of diesel production.
“The local consumption is just around 46 million litres, and the remaining 58 million litres will be exported daily,” he added.
