By Milcah Tanimu

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, revealed that international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria are unwilling to sell crude oil to the 650,000-barrel capacity Dangote Refinery. Dangote explained that these IOCs prefer exporting crude for foreign exchange, resisting the shift towards local supply.

Despite efforts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) to provide feedstock to the refinery, the IOCs remain focused on exporting. “The NNPC is doing its best, but some of the IOCs are struggling to give us crude; everybody is used to exporting and nobody wants to stop exporting,” Dangote stated.

Dangote highlighted the broader issue affecting Africa’s economic growth, pointing out that the continent suffers because it exports raw materials and imports finished goods. “Africa is not going the way it should because we export raw materials and import finished goods. Raw material is always priced at a ridiculous amount compared to finished goods,” he said.

He also mentioned that some individuals benefiting from oil imports are against the refinery’s success.

Dangote noted that the refinery would process approximately 21 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil monthly, significantly reducing the number of ships involved in importing and exporting oil. “Almost 21 ships will no longer leave the African continent, either from Nigeria or Angola. We will be able to take those crudes, refine, and distribute the product. I feel very proud as an African that we have been able to demonstrate that it can be done,” he remarked.

Dangote emphasized the environmental benefits, noting that reducing the number of ships involved would cut CO2 emissions. “Rather than ships coming all the way from Europe to bring in products or the ships going out of Nigeria, 21 ships going out of Nigeria every month, and then you have the product coming into Nigeria. In totality, when you calculate, you are talking about 480 ships of 1 million barrels,” he explained.

Reflecting on the challenges of establishing the refinery, Dangote admitted he would have reconsidered the venture if he had known the difficulties involved. “We did not know what we were getting into when we said we wanted to build the refinery. If we knew, we would have run away. It was very, very tough,” he confessed.

When asked about the profitability of the refinery, Dangote responded, “We will start making money soon. It is not about making money only; it also gives us great satisfaction that we are making Africa great.”