•Scarcity to end as 146 petrol tankers arrive Abuja, environs
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery in Lagos is now 97 per cent complete, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said yesterday.
The NMDPRA’s Chief Executive, Mr Farouk Ahmed, stated this when representatives of the refinery visited him in his office in Abuja to present the work plan of the facility for 2022/2023.
The integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria, is expected to be the world’s biggest single-train facility, upon commissioning.
Estimated to cost about $20 billion, the refinery will produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene and will likely generate 4,000 direct and 145,000 indirect jobs.
The new refinery will double Nigeria’s refining capacity and help in meeting the increasing demand for fuels, while providing cost and foreign exchange savings. It is estimated to have an annual refining capacity of 10.4 million tonnes of petrol.
“Today, representatives of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals presented their 2022/2023 work plan to the Authority which showed that the refinery project is estimated to be at 97 per cent completion.
“Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility,” the NMDPRA said in a statement.
The Authority’s Chief Executive, Ahmed, reiterated the importance of the Dangote Refinery to the country while assuring that the Authority will give all necessary support to ensure timely completion and kick-start operations.
Also, there are indications that the scarcity of petrol that has rocked Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city and its environs may soon subside as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) yesterday revealed that 149 tankers of the product have arrived the environs of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Executive Director, Downstream of the NNPC, Mr Adeyemi Adetunji, who spoke in Abuja, explained that the water which had subsumed the link road between the south and the north in Kogi had started receding.
“We are pleased to inform the general public that more petroleum products trucks have started arriving in Abuja and other destinations as the flood which had earlier restricted the movement of trucks along Lokoja has receded.
“In addition, the federal ministry of works and housing has also intervened with the rehabilitation of 19 sections of the damaged Bida road in Niger state. As of yesterday, October 11, 2022, 146 tankers arrived Bida depot for dispatch into Abuja and environs.
“Trucks have continued to arrive Suleja depot for onward dispatch even as of today. Delivery to other parts of the country is also continuing with vehicular movement northwards,” he stated.
Additionally, the NMDPRA and NNPC Limited, he noted, have allowed the redoubting of trucks carrying petroleum products from Warri and Oghara axes through Port Harcourt and Makurdi into Abuja and other parts of the north.
“NNPC will like to assure the general public that it has sufficient petroleum products in stock and there is no need for panic. We are also working to return normalcy,” the national oil company said.
