Businessman Aliko Dangote has said that the Dangote refinery in Lagos was constructed without any government incentive.
Dangote said on Tuesday that there was no need for investor incentives to realise the country’s vision of becoming a refining hub.
Dangote, represented by Ahmed Mansur from Dangote Group, made this known during his keynote address at the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) summit in Lagos.
The summit was themed “Making Nigeria a Net Exporter of Petroleum Products.”
He stressed the importance of ensuring sufficient feedstock availability, while calling for an end to mortgaging crude oil.
“It is unfortunate that while countries like Norway are investing oil proceeds into a future fund, we in Africa are spending our future earnings,” Dangote said.
He also called for prioritising the implementation of domestic crude supply obligations and expanding crude oil production capacity to meet the demands of new refining facilities.
Dangote commended the efforts of President Bola Tinubu, highlighting the government’s active steps to accelerate international oil companies (IOC) divestments and other initiatives.
Despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Dangote said that Nigeria had long relied on imports to meet its refined petroleum product needs.
He said, “Nigeria is poised to transition from a “net importer” to a “net exporter” of refined products, positioning itself as a significant player in global downstream trade.
“This impending transformation is indicative of our progress as an industry and as a nation. We owe a debt of gratitude to President Tinubu for his unwavering support throughout this journey,” he said.
Dangote also addressed the opportunities in Africa, noting that the continent imports about three million barrels of petroleum products daily, with half of that coming from coastal countries.
He highlighted that these countries produce over 3.4 million barrels of crude oil daily, with imports primarily sourced from Europe, Russia and other regions.
“In 2023 alone, this trade was estimated at approximately 17 billion dollars.
“However, these markets will be better served from Nigeria, reducing logistics costs and allowing countries to purchase their petroleum product requirements just in time,” he explained.
