Billionaire investor and philanthropist, Femi Otedola, has congratulated President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, following the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s attainment of its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
The refinery recently announced that it had reached its full nameplate capacity after completing restoration and optimisation works on its Crude Distillation Unit and Motor Spirit production block. The company described the feat as a global first for a single-train refinery of its size.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the refinery disclosed that it had commenced a 72-hour intensive performance test in collaboration with its licensor, UOP. The exercise is aimed at confirming operational stability, efficiency, and compliance with international standards.
Management explained that the milestone followed scheduled maintenance on key units, which have now been fully stabilised and optimised for steady-state operations.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, David Bird, said the smooth integration of the units reflects the refinery’s strong engineering expertise and operational resilience.
Reacting via his verified X handle on Thursday, Otedola described the development as a historic achievement for Dangote, Nigeria, and the African continent.
“I congratulate my friend and brother, @AlikoDangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full 650,000 barrels per day capacity,” he wrote.
According to Otedola, the milestone goes beyond production numbers, signalling a significant transformation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa. Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserves foreign exchange,” he stated.
He noted that the commencement of large-scale domestic refining after years of reliance on fuel imports is expected to reduce pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market.
“With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly,” he said.
Otedola also expressed optimism about the impact on the naira, projecting that the currency could trade below ₦1,000 to the dollar before the end of the year.
He further revealed that Dangote has initiated plans for expansion, with an additional $12bn investment to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The expansion will also include the production of 2.4 million tonnes of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tonnes of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent manufacturing.
“Work has already commenced in earnest. Congratulations once again, my brother. Nigeria is proud of you,” Otedola added.
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