Dangote Refinery is expected to consume about 2.5 per cent of globally traded crude oil at full capacity, its President and Chief Executive Officer, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed.
Dangote made the disclosure while receiving the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, who led a high-level delegation from the Federal Ministry of Industry on a tour of the 700,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Dangote Petrochemicals complex and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Dangote Group.
Reflecting on the refinery project, Dangote described it as the biggest business risk of his life, recalling how many financiers doubted the project would ever be completed.
Despite challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and foreign exchange volatility to scepticism from lenders, he said the successful delivery of the refinery demonstrates the capacity of Nigerian entrepreneurs to execute projects of global significance.
“What we have achieved here has never been done before on this scale. Once one person succeeds, many others will be encouraged to follow,” he said.
Dangote disclosed that the refinery, at full capacity, will account for the equivalent of about 10 per cent of the United States’ refining capacity and consume approximately 2.5 per cent of globally traded crude oil.
He urged the Federal Government to place industrialisation at the centre of its economic strategy, insisting that no nation has attained prosperity without a strong manufacturing base.
“There is no way to create jobs and prosperity without industrialisation,” Dangote said.
“The greatest attraction for foreign investors is the success of domestic investors.
When local investors thrive, they send a powerful signal that the environment is conducive to investment.”
The industrialist revealed that Dangote Industries recently raised an unsecured and unrated bond at rates below Nigeria’s sovereign benchmark, demonstrating growing investor confidence in credible Nigerian private-sector institutions.
According to him, the successful fundraising underscores the ability of Nigerian companies to mobilise long-term capital when supported by stable and predictable government policies.
Dangote also emphasised that policy consistency remains the most important factor in attracting investment, stressing that frequent policy reversals undermine investor confidence more than the absence of incentives.
“If Nigeria is to achieve sustainable growth and become a trillion-dollar economy, industrialisation must be the foundation. Indigenous investors remain the strongest catalysts for that transformation,” Dangote stated.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, described the refinery as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1tn economy, pledging deeper collaboration with the private sector to accelerate industrialisation, job creation and economic transformation.
According to the minister, the integrated industrial complex is one of the most significant investments in Africa and a model for the type of industrial development required to drive Nigeria’s economic growth aspirations.
“You cannot be Minister in charge of Industry and not visit the Dangote Refinery,” Enoh stated. “This facility matters because of what it represents for Nigerian industry, for our people and for the realisation of President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a one trillion-dollar economy.”
He added, “The more a country adds value to its products, the more respect it earns globally. The Dangote Refinery stands today as one of the strongest demonstrations of that principle.”
