Dangote Refinery has begun the production of long-awaited petrol today, a development that is a major milestone in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“First time in 28 years, we are having petroleum spirits being produced in Nigeria, and with me. This is an achievement really. There are some videos of 1974 which have fuel cues and those fuel cues are still here, with the production of petrol, this will eliminate all fuel cues in Nigeria,” Aliko Dangote, chairman Dangote Group said in an interview with Arise this morning.
Dangote said that this will improve the health of everybody. This will make sure that you know there is consistent supply to the market. It will also bring the real demand of PMS, no paper transaction.
“It will also help to make sure that it corrects this distortion of the naira, brings stability to the naira, brings growth and both development and prosperity,” he said.
Dangote’s production will impact billions of dollars of trade in fuel markets regionally and beyond. Nigeria is a global demand sink for the fuel, receiving almost 250,000 barrels a day in shipments last year, mostly from Europe, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd.
“I will say what you will be seeing today. It’s a moment of pride for every Nigerian, every African and every entrepreneur,” Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director Dangote Industries Limited.
“Can you count with your fingers the number of entrepreneurs who would have taken $20 billion of almost his entire wealth and put the risk and invested in Nigeria just to turn the history around so that you can add value to the product within the country and create employment within the country,” Edwin said.
Euro 5 has a maximum sulphur content limit of 10 ppm, compared to Euro 2 which has up to 50x more sulphur content (maximum 500 ppm). A lower sulphur content means lesser toxic emissions are released into the air, therefore, making our fuel cleaner and better for the environment and you.
“You can see the diesel, you know, because I’m sure most Nigerians have never, ever seen this colour of diesel. But this is what you call Euro-five diesel is less than 10 ppm, sulphur wise,” Dangote said.
