Page 13 - DMEA Week 41 2022
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DMEA                                      REFINING & FUELS                                            DMEA



                         The policy is projected to cost $9.6bn this year,   that it would be ready to support Abuja in phas-
                         according to Reuters.                ing out the policy. According to David Malpass,
                           The subsidy aims to keep fuel prices low   the World Bank’s president, Nigeria should
                         enough that the average Nigerian isn’t priced   increase social assistance for the poor and vul-
                         out of driving a vehicle. But many observers,   nerable and put a stop to the subsidies.
                         including experts from the World Bank and   “President Malpass emphasized the impor-
                         other international financial institutions (IFIs),   tance of integrating climate and development,
                         say the policy is having a serious negative impact   as well as the need for an enabling policy and
                         on the economy.                      regulatory environment alongside strengthened
                           “[The] petrol subsidy has been a recurring   institutions in the energy sector,” a World Bank
                         and controversial public policy issue in our   statement said.
                         country since the early ‘80s,” Buhari said in his   Nigeria’s government has actually committed
                         last budget speech before the election, which is   to eliminating the domestic gasoline subsidy as
                         set to take place on February 25, 2023. “How-  required by the terms of the Petroleum Industry
                         ever, its current fiscal impact has clearly shown   Act (PIA), which was adopted in August 2021.
                         that the policy is unsustainable.”   However, it has postponed the deadline for
                           In September, the World Bank told Nigeria   doing so by at least 18 months. ™



       Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery now



       97% complete, NMDPRA chief says






            AFRICA       FAROUK Ahmed, chief executive of the Nige-  taken a 20% equity stake in the plant and has the
                         rian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum   right of first refusal with respect to supplying
                         Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said on   feedstock to the refinery for processing over a
                         October 12 that the Dangote Refinery was now   period of 20 years. In practical terms, this means
                         97% complete, according to a report from This   that NNPC Ltd has locked in long-term plans to
                         Day.                                 sell oil to the plant at the rate of at least 33,000
                           Ahmed made an announcement to this effect   bpd.
                         after meeting with representatives of the Dan-  The Dangote Refinery is expected to begin
                         gote Group to discuss the 650,000-barrel per   operating at an initial capacity of 560,000 bpd
                         day (bpd) oil-processing plant’s work plan for   next year. The facility is being built by the Dan-
                         the 2022/2023 period. -              gote Group, a privately-owned Nigerian indus-
                           He did not say whether the facility had   trial conglomerate, in the Lekki Free Zone near
                         committed to any specific deadline for launch-  Lagos. ™
                         ing testing or commercial operations, but he
                         stressed that NMDPRA would provide Dan-
                         gote Group with all the support it needed to
                         ensure that the plant was completed and came
                         on stream in a timely fashion.
                           He also stressed the future importance of
                         the refinery to the Nigerian fuel sector, saying
                         that the facility would play a significant role in
                         reducing the country’s dependence on imported
                         petroleum products. The plant will help meet
                         the rising demand for refined fuels while also
                         ensuring lower costs and foreign exchange sav-
                         ings, Ahmed stated.
                           The Dangote Refinery is set to be the largest
                         single-train refinery ever commissioned and
                         the largest oil-processing plant in Africa. The
                         plant will turn out gasoline and diesel that meet
                         Euro-5 emissions, as well as jet fuel and petro-
                         chemicals. It is expected to create 4,000 new jobs
                         directly and could create another 145,000 jobs
                         indirectly.
                           The cost of building the Dangote Refinery
                         has been estimated at $20bn. State-owned Nige-
                         rian National Petroleum Co. Ltd (NNPCL) has    Dangote Refinery construction site (Photo: Twitter/@DangoteGroup)



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