The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has indicated interest in lifting refined petroleum products from the soon to be completed $15 billion Dangote Refinery, Lagos.
This is as the refinery is expected to produce 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel daily.
This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Dangote Group on Sunday, which stated that the marketers made the request during a recent visit to the site of the 650,000 barrels per day single train refinery in Ibeju-Lekki Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
After the visit, the Chairman of MOMAN, Mr Adetunji Oyebanji, said the refinery would help remove the various bottlenecks associated with the importation of petroleum products into the country.
What the Chairman of MOMAN is saying
Oyebanji, who is also the Managing Director 11 Plc (former Mobil Plc), said the marketers were waiting eagerly for the completion of the refinery, which was expected to make Nigeria self-sufficient in petroleum refining.
“It is our desire to see our members buy refined products from Dangote Refinery when it comes on stream. We are open to discuss commercial terms with the management of Dangote Oil Refinery regarding the lifting of refined products.
The impact it will have on the market chain will be changed from a situation whereby a marketer will have to wait for four to five months through imports lead time before getting products. The turn-around time is going to be much faster. It will be more efficient.
Getting products from Dangote Refinery will also give us the possibility of getting the product by vessels or by trucking,” he said.
Oyebanji expressed hopes that Dangote Refinery will fix enough margins for members of MOMAN to allow them rehabilitate and upgrade the oil assets adding that the refinery would move Nigeria from an import-dependent nation to self-sufficiency in petroleum products refining.
The MOMAN Chairman said, “This refinery will move us from import-dependent in petroleum product to becoming totally self-sufficient. It will move Nigeria to a situation whereby all the products that we consume will be available locally. It is going to be a very big development and a game-changer for us and we are looking forward to its completion.’’
While urging the Federal Government to encourage more investors who have gotten licenses to establish private refineries in the country, Oyebanji also expressed hope that the take-off of Dangote Refinery would facilitate the deregulation of the downstream oil sector.
“If you have a policy that allows you issue significant numbers of licences and only a few are utilised, this tells you that there is a problem somewhere, which requires government’s attention.
Government needs to have a discussion with the licensees to find out their challenges and how it can be of assistance to them,’’ he stated.
On his part, the Chief Operations Officer, Dangote Oil Refining Company, Mr Giuseppe Surace, told the marketers that the refinery was designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude, including petrol and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
He said the refinery is expected to produce up to 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel a day, roughly 10.4 million tonnes of the product, 4.6 million tonnes of diesel, and 4 million tonnes of jet fuel yearly, adding that it also has a fertiliser plant, which will utilise the refinery’s by-products as raw materials.
What you should know
In a related development, it can be recalled that while explaining the reason the Federal Government wants to purchase 20% stake in Dangote Refinery, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, said that the take-off of the refinery will make Nigeria the hub of petroleum products and supplies.
He also said that it is going to change the dynamics of petroleum supply globally in the sense that the petroleum products flowing from Europe today will be reversed to some other direction as Nigeria will be the supplier for West Africa legitimately and also many other parts of the world.
SOURCE: nairametrics.com