The world’s largest subsea gas pipeline infrastructure, being built by Dangote Refinery, is set to rescue the country from epileptic power supply, as it would provide 12,000 additional megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
The gas pipeline, which is about 1,100 kilometres long, is to handle 3 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of gas per day, and would serve as alternative to the troubled Ecravos – Lagos pipeline, which supplies power plants in the entire western Niger Delta, where majority of the nation’s power plants are located.
Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, who disclosed this during the visit of the minister of State for Petroleum, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, to Dangote Refinery at Ibeju -Lekki in Lagos yesterday, also disclosed that the company plans to construct a 570 megawatts power plant .
“As a matter of fact, gas supply from our gas facility will augment the natural domestic gas supply and we estimate that additional 12,000 mw of power generation can be added to the grid,” he said.
He said that the Dangote Refinery would save the country over $7.5 billion annually, through import substitution.
‘‘We will be adding value to our economy, as all these projects will be creating about 4,000 direct and 145,000 indirect jobs. We will also save over $7.5billion for Nigeria annually, through import substitution and generate an additional $5.5billion per annum, through exports of the refined petroleum products, fertilizer and petro chemicals. We envisage that these projects, which would cost over $18billion, would be completed in 2019.”
Dangote lauded the resolve of the minister for his effort towards ensuring availability of petroleum products and championing a comprehensive overhaul of the energy sector in Nigeria, with a view to making the country a self-reliant nation, adding that his company is committed to playing its part in the efforts of the minister and the Federal Government of Nigeria, to comprehensively address the energy crisis in the country.
‘‘As you are aware, we are currently building the world’s largest single line refinery, petrochemical complex and the world’s second largest urea fertiliser plant.
The refinery will have the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, while the petrochemical plant will produce 780 KTPA polypropylene, 500 KTPA of polyethylene, while the fertiliser project will produce 3.0 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of Urea”.
Speaking during the tour of the petrochemical complex, Kachikwu disclosed that the Federal Government is relying heavily on the Dangote refinery to fulfil its promise to Nigerians to end fuel importation by December 2019. Kachikwu said the government is ready to play its part to assist in making sure the project is completed before the scheduled date.
The minister, who said he was overwhelmed by the dimension of the project, explained that the present government had always believed that the private sector holds the ace in industrialisation efforts of the government. He further noted that position has been reinforced by what the Dangote Group is doing.
“It is good to say that the private sector is the answer to Nigeria’s problems, with a project as big as this. The challenge I will give you today is that of time, I see your time for completion is 2019 December but I am sure you will understand my greed if I tell you that the refinery component of this project should come earlier than the set date.
“I have made very firm commitment to Nigerians that I must stop the importation of petroleum products by 2019 and I am going to keep to it. It is absolutely important that we do this early, and given the feat that we have achieved in terms of speed of construction and I urge you to do all within you to achieve its completion before the due date.
“I am sure His Excellency President Buhari will be absolutely enthused if he were to find himself, not only crystalising the policy position we have taken so far, but also coming here himself, to open a facility as big as this, before the end of his first term. Whatever configurations your engineers have come up with, I urge that they go back to the drawing board and get me my refined products before your said date.”
In his response to the government’s challenge, Dangote said he has accepted the challenge and would do all possible to achieve the feat.
BUSINESSDAY
