Shocking! Dangote calls for revocation of dormant refinery licences in Nigeria

• Aliko Dangote, laminitis and president of the Dangote Group, urged the NMDPRA to either revoke licences for inactive refineries oregon penalise their holders annually.
• He highlighted the challenges posed by almighty interests successful the petroleum assemblage and called for accrued refinery operation crossed Africa to trim dependency connected imports.
• Minister Heineken Lokpobiri emphasised the government's efforts to enactment refiners and presumption Nigeria arsenic the refining hub for West Africa

Legit.ng writer Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The laminitis and president/chief enforcement of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) connected Tuesday to either revoke licences for dormant refineries oregon penalise licence holders annually.

Photo Credit: Dangote Group
Source: Getty Images

Speaking astatine the NMDPRA and S&P Global Commodity Insights-organised West African Refined Fuel Conference successful Abuja, Dangote stated that the authorities and NMDPRA are liable for encouraging others to conception refineries.

“I deliberation encouraging different radical to physique refineries is the occupation of the NMDPRA and besides the government. So, NMDPRA, I trust connected your enactment to marque definite we promote those radical who person collected licences to enactment with you.“And I judge anybody who collected these licences from you and they are not utilizing it, either you cancel them oregon you enactment a punishment connected a yearly ground truthful that they volition instrumentality the licence oregon they volition physique those refineries,” Mr. Dangote said.

Powerful interests that power the petroleum worth concatenation passim the continent are threatened by the operation of a refinery, helium claimed successful a premium Times report.

“Across galore African countries, this assemblage has historically been a large avenue for corruption and rent extraction. When you build a refinery and disrupt that system, you are not conscionable innovating, you are threatening almighty interests that volition earnestly combat back,” helium added.

He added that Nigeria has made a historical modulation to being a nett exporter of urea, polypropylene, and refined petroleum products.

“With our Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) accumulation of 2,500 tons per day, we are moving to promote much homes to summation LPG utilisation. And we are conscionable getting started. Very soon, the refinery volition beryllium listed to springiness each Nigerians an accidental to go shareholders.“We are unfastened to partnerships with African governments, backstage investors, and determination institutions. Our imaginativeness is elemental but ambitious: Africa should refine each the petroleum products it consumes, close present connected African soil,” helium said.

In effect to worries astir monopoly and domination successful Nigeria's refining industry, helium emphasised that galore radical who person the resources to enactment Nigeria's improvement alternatively similar to put their wealth overseas and criticise from the sidelines.

“Before I conclude, fto maine instrumentality this accidental to code concerns astir monopoly and dominance. The world is that excessively galore radical who person some the means and the accidental to lend meaningfully to our nation’s maturation take alternatively to criticise from the sidelines portion investing their wealthiness abroad, adding small to Nigeria’s existent economy.“We person chosen to stake connected Nigeria and volition proceed to bash so. So we should not let dumping to destruct our manufacturing base. Others should beryllium encouraged to physique refineries if they are serious,” helium added.

Photo Credit: Contributor
Source: Getty Images

Petroleum curate reacts

In his speech, Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister for State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), emphasised the government's strategical inaugural to assistance refiners, marketers, and regulators successful establishing a favourable clime for creaseless determination trade.

“As a government, our ambition is clear: to presumption Nigeria arsenic the selling hub for refined petroleum products successful West Africa. This is wherefore we proceed to supply enactment to our refiners, marketers, and the NMDPRA, creating an enabling situation for seamless trading crossed the region,” helium said.Lokpobiri said successful driving occurrence to the midstream and downstream sectors, “We are increasing the upstream conception deliberately, which has recorded growth.”

He claimed that President Bola Tinubu's audacious determination to destruct the petroleum merchandise subsidy, which aims to spur concern and maturation successful the downstream industry, reflects this vision.

“While I commend our indigenous players successful the refining industry, I impulse much investors to prehend this opportunity. By expanding our refining capacity, Nigeria tin not lone conscionable home request but besides go the refining hub for West Africa and the continent astatine large,” helium said.

Dangote refinery to go world’s 6th largest

Legit.ng reported that Africa’s largest lipid refinery, the $20 cardinal Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is acceptable to go the sixth-largest refinery globally.

The refinery located successful Lekki is presently going done a modification process to upgrade it from 650,000 barrels per time to 700,000 barrels per time by the extremity of 2025.

The Dangote refinery is presently the 7th largest refinery successful the world.

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Source: Legit.ng