The African Petroleum Producers Organisation, (APPO), has said that the establishment of Dangote Oil Refinery will bring about a 36 percent reduction in the importation of petroleum productions into the continent.
The Secretary-General, African Petroleum Producers Organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said in an interview that Dangote Refinery shall be supplying over 12% of Africas product demand when it becomes operational.
Ibrahim said, To appreciate the impact that the Dangote refinery is going to have on African economies and especially on the supply of petroleum products, and to some extent the conservation of scarce foreign exchange, a look at some statistics on the continents petroleum products demand and supply is in order.
Besides, the organisation expressed a belief that the success of the Dangote Refinery project could incentivise the rise of similar projects across Africa despite the current focus on energy transition.
Currently, Africas daily petroleum demand is 4.3 million barrels per day (mbd). Of this volume, 57% is produced locally (on the continent) while 43% is imported. When Dangote is fully onstream, the percentage of Africas products import shall drop to 36%. This is even as the total volume of products demand rises to 5.4 mbd.
“You can therefore see the huge impact that Dangote refinery shall be making to overall products supply in Africa. Dangote shall be supplying over 12% of Africas products demand.
That is huge savings for a continent that has scarce foreign exchange and little to export. We shall save from buying abroad and from shipping and insurance costs. Furthermore, the success of Dangote could incentivise the rise of similar projects, the noise about energy transition notwithstanding, an oil analyst noted.
Ibrahim also hailed Dangotes decision to go ahead with the construction of crude oil refinery despite a campaign against fossil fuels, adding that the demand for fossil fuel is going to continue for several decades to come.
Ibrahim urged African refiners to invest more on technology and develop the right expertise to manage their refineries, which are going to serve the continent as western refiners halt the establishment of more refineries.
