Our refinery was built without any government incentive – Dangote 

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, stated on Tuesday that the Dangote Refinery was built without any government incentives.

Dangote shared this during his keynote address at the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) Summit in Lagos, themed “Making Nigeria a Net Exporter of Petroleum Products.”  

Represented by Mr. Ahmed Mansur of the Dangote Group, he emphasized the need for investor incentives to achieve the country’s goal of becoming a refining hub.

He highlighted the importance of ensuring sufficient feedstock availability and called for an end to the practice of mortgaging crude oil.

He stated that to realize the summit’s vision of making Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products and an energy-sufficient nation, the country would need to develop up to 1.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity, supported by the government and collaboration among industry stakeholders.

He said, “To grab this opportunity, we will need to build 1.5m barrels per day of refining capacity. This will not be an easy feat and strong government support will be required to achieve this.” 

“We built the Dangote Refinery without a single incentive from the government. However, to achieve the vision of turning Nigeria into a refining hub, investors need to be incentivized.” 

He called for prioritizing the implementation of domestic crude supply obligations and expanding crude oil production capacity to meet the needs of new refining facilities.

Dangote praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s efforts, emphasizing the government’s proactive measures to accelerate divestments by International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other initiatives.

Africa’s dependence on petroleum products imports 

He noted that, despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria had long depended on imports to meet its refined petroleum product needs.

• Dangote discussed opportunities in Africa, noting that the continent imports around three million barrels of petroleum products daily, with half of these imports coming from coastal countries.
• He pointed out that these countries produce over 3.4 million barrels of crude oil daily, with imports mainly coming from Europe, Russia, and other regions.
• He emphasized that the Dangote Refinery already produces enough diesel and jet fuel to meet Nigeria’s needs and is increasing PMS production to satisfy domestic demand.
• He also acknowledged that global shifts in the petroleum sector, particularly in Europe, could disrupt traditional trade flows for refined products in Africa.