Aliko Dangote’s oil refinery has been the talk of the oil indsutry. The $19 billion facility built in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos is one of the world’s biggest oil refineries and has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Mr. Dangote’s highly awaited oil refinery was inaugurated in Lekki, Nigeria on Monday May 22, 2023.
It is the first privately owned crude oil refinery in Nigeria and will solve Nigeria’s lack of refining capacity by doubling the country’s refining capacity. It will get rid of the current consumption shortfall and will also reduce import dependency and stimulate economic growth.
According to BBC, Nigeria is a major oil producer but most of it is sent abroad while it has to import the refined fuel used in vehicles and elsewhere. As a result the country often faces chronic fuel shortages. This is the problem that the $19 billion (£15.2 billion) refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is intended to tackle
This is a game-changer for the Nigerian people.”
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Conversation reports that the operation of the Dangote refinery raises concerns about its potential impact on Nigeria’s net zero emission goals. Net zero is an ideal state where the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere is balanced.
Decarbonisation efforts are required for countries to achieve net zero but the path and time might differ as countries may want to take a gas-led approach to transition to renewable energy.
