Electric cars, renewable energy no threat to Dangote Refinery—Aliko

THOMAS IMONIKHE

Africa’s richest man and President Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said the proposed transition to electric vehicles, achieving net zero fossils and an end to sale of new petrol and diesel cars by European countries would not negatively impact the $19.5billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery, revealing that about 6000 derivatives are produced from fossil fuel.

According to him, the fact that over 600million Africans currently lack access to power supply implies that demand for fuel  especially on the continent will continue to increase in years ahead notwithstanding a successful switch to renewable energy.

Venturing into the gigantic project he explained, was informed by determination to leave a legacy of self-sufficiency in petroleum products, as well as create direct and indirect jobs through industrialization and prosperity in Nigeria.

He disclosed this at a media parley and tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in the Ibeju Lekki local government area of Lagos state on Sunday.

“ I don’t have any fear that there will be drop in demand for petroleum products in the near future. Even the United Kingdom has extended the deadline to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars till 2035, and there are some key outstanding issues.

“Like I explained before, new petroleum refineries are not being built and even some European countries are still using coal to generate power contrary to earlier impression that they don’t need the solid mineral.

“My determination is to use our natural resources for our industrial growth and prosperity for the people”, he declared, adding that no stone will be left unturned by management of the refinery in ensuring its regular turn around maintenance every four or five years.

Revealing that only eight percent of Nigeria’s arable land is under cultivation, the billionaire said the country has no business with food importation, stressing that the government should focus more to encourage domestic investment in agriculture and other sectors to create jobs, boost food production and create wealth for citizens

He said the nation’s reliance on imported products is tantamount to importing poverty into the country and creating jobs and prosperity in the exporting nations, noting that he was into the importation of goods for over 20 years.

On the uniqueness of the multi billion dollars project, the business mogul revealed that it has its own dedicated steam and power generation system with adequate standby units for reliable and uninterrupted utility supply to operating plants.

“It has a 435megawatts power plant that can meet the total power requirement of Ibadan Distribution Company covering five states namely: Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and Ekiti. Dangote is one of the few companies in the world executing a Petroleum Refinery and a Petrochemical complex directly as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor”, he stated.

Highlighting the benefits of the Refinery to the nation’s development, Dangote pointed out that “it is estimated to generate an annual market value of $21billion for Nigerian crude oil” as well as foreign exchange savings/earnings of $9.9billion.

He said  56percent of the production would be exported with a foreign exchange generation of approximately $17billion and ensures over $25billion addition to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, through massive value addition within the country.

Furthermore, he said products from the plant would “serve as raw materials for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used extensively across a broad range of industrial technical and everyday applications including widespread use in building, transport, packaging, electrical/electronic and healthcare application”.

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