Dangote refinery awards $368m contracts to local contractors

Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical has so far awarded $368 million to 120 local contractors at the site as part of its contribution to Nigeria content development initiative.

Group Executive Director Strategy Portfolio Development and Capital Projects Dangote Industries Limited Mr. Devakumar Edwin said this Monday during a tour of the refinery by members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in Lagos.

He said there were several Nigerian content opportunities in the company’s refinery and petrochemical project.

 Edwin said the refinery would lead to significant skills transfer and technology acquisition opportunities in the country.

 He said the group had embarked on a landmark integrated refinery and petrochemical project, regarded as the largest industrial complex in the history of Africa, which is expected to take Nigeria to new heights through the transformation of the economy.

“The company is already partnering with the Lagos state government and Siemens in the skills development of the local community for employment at the construction site. We have already trained and employed 250 artisans. 

“The company has completed the overseas training of first and second batches of Nigerian engineers and are being acclimatised at site. The third batch left for India classroom training for one month, on the job training for one year and working in real time with experts in the industry every day,” he said.

While saying company had so far employed 3,580 Nigerian personnel on site, Edwin stated that, “this excludes employment by the various contractors and subcontractors at the site.”

He said the company, in partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), kicked off training for 200 youths in its host communities, as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The programme, he further said, was meant to prepare the selected youth with vocational skills that would make them employable or self-employed.

Edwin further said the company was currently training the youth in areas of plumbing, masonry, welding, iron bending, auto mechanics and electrical works because of the instant value addition to their lives and communities.

On the progress made so far on the refinery project, Edwin  said the company had imported world’s largest reactor regenerator and well as a crude column, which is equivalent to 30-storied building weighing about 100 fully loaded trucks.

He said the refinery can meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all liquid products, such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene and aviation jet and also would have surplus of each of these products for export.

 The refinery, the company said, would ensure the security of local supply of petroleum products is guaranteed as well as the availability of petrochemical feedstock (Poly-propylene & Polyethylene), which would be enough for the Nigerian market as well as the neighbouring countries.

With a fast-growing population and poor infrastructure, he said the refinery would also reposition Nigeria as an attractive investment destination and a major industrial hub in Africa.

Edwin said the company also possess strategically located marine infrastructure for crude receipts and product trade when the refinery is fully completed.

 He said the 650,000 barrels per day refinery was designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude and produce extremely clean fuels that meet Euro V specification.

 Edwin said in addition to the refinery plant, the company was constructing the largest fertiliser plant in West Africa.

 “Current consumption of Urea in Nigeria is 700,000 tonnes. There is very poor per hectare usage of fertiliser leading to very poor crop yield. By 2020, Nigerian population, which is around 207 million, would lead to increased food consumption.

“Estimates point out that around five million tonnes of fertilisers are required per year in Nigeria in next five to seven years bifurcated into 3.5 Million tonnes of Urea.

“Dangote Fertiliser Project is the largest granulated urea fertiliser complex coming up in the entire fertiliser industry history in the world, with an investment of $2.0 billion capacity of three million tonnes per annum. The Dangote Fertiliser complex consists of ammonia and urea plants with associated facilities and infrastructure, to produce 3 MMTPA urea,” he stated.

President/Chairman of council Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (NIPR) Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, commended president of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, for his investment in the nation’s petroleum sector.

Also in his remark, Lagos NUJ chair, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, thanked the company for giving the union opportunity to embark on the tour of the refinery project. 

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