Yemisi Izuora/Ijeoma Agudosi
Dangote Petrochemical Refinery which is about to set world record as ‘Largest Single Refinery’ will make Nigeria self sufficient in petroleum products refining and also turn the country as a major exporter of such products.
The project which is close to realisation will mark a turning point in Nigeria’s search for solution in meeting local refining need for white products.
The refinery initially designed to handle 450,000 barrels per day has been expanded to refine 600,000 barrels a day which it comes on stream early 2018.
Madhav Kelkar, Senior General Manager Civil/Structural of Dangote Oil Refinery Ltd, told journalists in Lagos today, that the entire project construction and engineering will be concluded by 2017.
Kelkar said the project which is located at the Lagos Free Zone covers 2100 hectres of land thus making it most singular largest refining plant anywhere else.
He said the critical aspect of the project which is land reclamation would be concluded in the next five months, to give way for installation of the plants components for take off.
The manager said all contractors which include, Jan De Nul of Belgium, Sarathy Geotech of India have been fully mobilised to facilitate the dredging and soil investigation of the 2,600 hectres of land which will accommodate the petrochemical and fertiliser plants.
“We have in place state-of-the-art technology and equipment, to ensure the value chain which consists of crude reception facility, to the processing facility are adequately integrated” he explained.
At the fertiliser plant site, general manager Dangote fertiliser, Jaiswal Anurag confirmed that the plant has attained 90 percent of engineering work and that 80 percent of equipment have arrived the country.
Anurag also said that the contractors, Trevi Foundation, Onshore Construction, SAIPEM, TATA and Dantata & Sawoe have fully mobilised to site.
He said the fertiliser plant is most likely going to take off before the petrochemical.
Speaking at the level of work done at the temporary jetty, Emmanuel Chukwu, project engineer of Dantata & Sawoe said work on the site has attained 95 percent completion.
“We will complete dredging, loading and offloading facilities this month (October) the dredging will link the facility from the laggon to the sea. We are moving at a very high speed because we commenced work on July 2014 and this October we shall be completing all the work” he assured.
Kelkar, said the benefit of the project is that it will not only make Nigeria self sufficient in local refining but will generate foreign exchange through export of refined products.
It will be recalled that at the signing of the $3.3billion loan ceremony in Abuja on September 4, 2013 Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote group, stated, that “As an investor who believes in Nigeria, knows Nigeria well and whose prosperity was made in Nigeria we have responded to the challenge with our recent decision to invest over $9.0billion in a Refinery/Petrochemical and Fertilizer complex to be located at the OKLNG Free Trade zone.
This complex will be the largest industrial complex project ever in the history of our great nation. Funding for the project will come from a $3.3billion medium term loan, the agreement for which we are signing today and also an additional $2.25billion from the DFI’s and ECA’s to augment our equity contribution of $3.50billion.
According to him, The projects have effectively taken off, with the award of Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, Contract to Saipem of Italy for the Fertilizer Plant. For the refinery project the award of Basic Engineering Design and Optimization has been made to UOP, of the Honeywell Group of USA, and award of Project Management Consultancy has been made to Engineers India Ltd, a Government of India Undertaking.
The Fertilizer Project will produce when in operation, 2.75 mtpa of Urea and Ammonia, while the Refinery will have the capacity to process 400,000 bpd, of crude oil.
The refinery will produce gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel/ household kerosene, slurry as raw material for carbon black, as well as 650,000 mtpa of polypropylene.