Nigerian billionaire and Dangote Group chairman, Aliko Dangote, has declared that Nigeria will no longer need to import gasoline by June 2024, thanks to his Dangote Refinery.
Dangote stated that his refinery, which is already producing diesel and aviation fuel, can fulfill the gasoline needs of West Africa and meet the aviation fuel demands of the entire continent.
This announcement was made at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, May 17, 2024, as Dangote discussed the refinery’s progress.
“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” he is quoted to have said.
He added that his company “can supply gasoline to West Africa, diesel to West and Central Africa, and aviation fuel to the entire continent.”
He also emphasized that his company’s efforts would make Africa self-sufficient in producing oil by-products, including fertilizer and raw materials for detergents.
The business mogul explained that his commitment to investing all his resources in Africa aims to end fuel imports and generate jobs on the continent, with the Dangote Refinery playing a crucial role in this transformation process.
“We just commissioned in February and now we are producing jet fuel, we are producing diesel, and by next month, we will be producing gasoline. What that would do is that we would be taking most of the African crude that is being produced and also be able to supply not only Nigeria, because our capacity is too big for Nigeria, but it would also supply West Africa, Central Africa, and also South Africa.
“We have 650,000 barrels per day, 1 million tonnes of polypropylene, we have 590,000 tonnes of carbon black, which is the raw material for ink, dyes, and so on. We are expanding more. This is the first phase, and we are going on to the next phase, which will start early next year.”
