Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, has formally confirmed the start of fuel production at his refinery.
Dangote declared the milestone at a press conference on Tuesday, displaying a bottle of the beverage, often known as premium motor spirit (PMS).
The 650,000 bpd refinery began operations in January, producing diesel and aviation fuel.
Dangote said that the plant’s petrol can compete with products from other regions of the world in terms of quality.
The billionaire attributed the refinery’s success to the “conducive environment” created by the government under President Bola Tinubu.
Dangote said:
“Today is a very special day, which I think Nigeria has not produced petrol, which is gasoline, for many years but I stand with you today.”
“I would like to salute the people of Nigeria and the government of President Ahmed Tinubu for creating the environment for us to thrive and also achieve this monumental task of giving energy to our people for growth, development and prosperity.”
Dangote emphasised the beneficial impact of Tinubu’s actions, particularly the “naira for crude” program, which he believes will stabilise the naira by cutting demand for dollars by 40%.
He also addressed the subject of round-tripping in the oil industry, when falsified documentation causes petrol shortages.
Dangote stated that the refinery’s operations would enable exact tracking of petrol usage across Nigeria, providing a solution to the problem.
He said:
“As we have this refinery working, it will show the true consumption of Nigeria.”
“We can track every single loaded truck and we will try as much as possible to track the loaded trucks, we can tell you where they are.”
Dangote, while stressing on quality, said the petrol from his plant, meets global standards.
“You will not be having an engine issue which a lot of us were having. It won’t happen at all.”
“So the quality here will match that of quality anywhere in the world. We will make sure that nobody will beat us in terms of quality.”
Dangote stated that the refinery is finalising agreements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, following which its goods will be available in the market.
Dangote stated that this development is likely to considerably rebuild Nigeria’s manufacturing and industrial sectors, as well as contribute to meaningful import substitution, saving the country valuable foreign money (FX) and helping to stabilise the naira currency.
“This will help bring down inflation and reduce the cost of living.”
The chairman also stated that Nigeria would soon achieve self-sufficiency in polypropylene production.
Polypropylene is a compound used in the manufacture of packaging materials and plastics.
He stated that sectors that had historically faced import delays and the necessity to keep huge inventories would now have regular access to locally manufactured polypropylene, lowering costs and simplifying operations.