By Adedapo Adesanya
The much-awaited Dangote Oil Refinery is set for commissioning on May 22, according to a post from an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital Communications, Mr Bashir Ahmad, has revealed.
Mr Ahmad said on Sunday that the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, which doubles as the world’s largest single-train refinery, is set for inauguration by President Buhari, one week before he leaves office.
This will be one of the last acts of the outgoing President as he exits the position he has held for the last eight years on May 29 for his ally, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was declared winner of the February 25, 2023 election.
It was said that the refinery has been completed, with pre-inauguration tests ongoing.
The management of Dangote Industries Limited had in January hinted that the much-anticipated commissioning would happen before the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023.
This hint was dropped by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Anthony Chiejina, in a statement to rebuff reports that Mr Buhari was commissioning the project during his two-day visit to Lagos when he commissioned the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the 32-Metric Tonnes Imota Rice Mill, the 18.75km Eleko to Epe T Junction Expressway, the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, the Blue Line Rail (Phase 1 from Marina to Mile 2), the groundbreaking for the Blue Line Rail Phase 2 from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko, and the MRS Lubricant.
The Dangote Refinery complex, which is located in the Lekki Free Zone area of Lagos, covers a land area of approximately 2,635 hectares.
This will be a welcome effort for Nigeria to boost its self-sufficiency needs and cut down on importing refined fuels despite the abundance of crude deposits available in its earth’s crust.
This will also save it from paying trillions in fuel subsidy, which was recently suspended, but the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, later said plans were on course to meet the June 30 deadline.
The refinery is expected to meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.
The refinery is designed to process Nigerian crude and can also process other crudes.
The Dangote Refinery has a 435MW-capacity power plant.
Dipo Olowookere