Dangote targets to make Nigeria Africa’s polypropylene hub with $2bn petrochemical plant

BY Chisom Nwatu.

The $2 billion Dangote Petrochemical Plant located in Lagos, when fully operational, would position Nigeria as one of Africa’s largest petrochemical hubs and boost non-oil export earnings for the country.

Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group, made this known at the 2022 Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non-oil Export recently held in Lagos.

Dangote said the refinery, reputed to be the largest single train greenfield petroleum refinery in the world, and the petrochemical project would ensure petroleum products sufficiency and security for Nigeria.

He said the refinery is at an advanced stage of completion and that on completion, it is expected to export much more than 8 million tons of petroleum products annually after meeting domestic consumption, while about 900,000 tons of polypropylene are also expected from the petrochemical plant.

The 900,000 metric tons per annum capacity plant, which is being built alongside the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, will produce polypropylene strategically positioned to cater to the demands of the growing plastic processing downstream industries not only in Africa but also in other parts of the world.

He emphasized the need for the government to unravel the potential of petrochemical export by concluding the OB3 pipeline to make gas available to manufacturers.

“There is a need to prioritize financing gas infrastructure, gas allocation to the domestic market and adjustment of fiscal framework to make supply of gas to the domestic market attractive for oil companies,” he said.

The Dangote CEO also revealed that the company’s recently commissioned 3m-mtpa fertilizer plant has commenced export to India, North America and Latin America and that “at steady state, will export 2 million tons per annum after meeting domestic consumption”.

He explained that the Dangote Fertiliser, regarded as the second-largest urea fertilizer plant in the world, is leveraging Nigeria’s abundant gas reserves as raw material for the production of urea.

Dangote stressed on the need for Nigeria to encourage non-oil export, saying that the country’s non-oil export is quite low compared to other African top oil producers.

“This exposes the economy to oil price and production risks. Export opportunities abound in Nigeria but there are two main routes – import substitution and export-oriented industries. Import substitution is ideal for economies like Nigeria which has a large domestic market and a huge import bill,” he added.

He further said that investors can build industries which initially target the domestic market, then subsequently target export markets as they build scale and competitiveness.

He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to build on the country’s competitive advantage and capacity to develop industries that are primarily geared towards export.

“Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) in Bonny is a good example of an export-oriented investment (though it would be good to get a model where such revenues are sold in I&E window,” he noted.

Godwin Emefiele, governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, in his remarks, described the theme of the seminar “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Business” as timely and appropriate.

“The global economy and structure are changing rapidly before our eyes. The previous world economic order underpinned by globalization and seamless trade possibilities seems to be suffering major disruptions lately. We believe Nigeria has a lot of potential, and we can harness this for the good of our people and country,” he said.

Emefiele pointed out that the CBN had undertaken several initiatives to promote the non-oil export sector because of its firm belief that the non-oil export sector holds enormous potential to contribute to employment generation, wealth creation and economic growth and development of Nigeria.