Nigerian oil tycoon, Aliko Dangote, has said Africa will largely meet its refined fuel needs locally by 2030 as he prepares to launch a $16bn refinery project on Kenya’s coast.
Dangote is expected to break ground on the East African refinery, with a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, on Wednesday. The project is expected to take about 30 months to complete.
Speaking to reporters in Nairobi, Africa’s richest man said he viewed the project as part of efforts to stop the continent from exporting raw materials and instead produce and sell finished products.
“By 2030, the majority of African countries will be self-sufficient. It does not matter where it is refined, but it should be in the African continent, on the soil of Africa,” he said in response to a question from AFP about when Africa would no longer need to import fuel from elsewhere.
Dangote dismissed concerns about the Kenyan project, which is being built in Lamu on the picturesque Indian Ocean coast and already faces a land rights court case as well as opposition from Greenpeace and others over its environmental impact.
“There’s actually no problem with these sorts of cases,” Dangote said. “There are people who don’t want the development of Africa.”
There have also been questions about where the new refinery will source the crude oil needed for refining, given that East African countries are only beginning to discover and exploit significant reserves.
Dangote said the refinery would source crude from multiple locations, including the Middle East and the United States, and would be ready to process oil from African producers as countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique increase production.
“Are we going to wait until (Africa has) one quarter of the world’s population before we start thinking of what to do? We have to start addressing that issue today,” he said, highlighting US President Donald Trump’s threats to stop exporting diesel.
He insisted that the Kenyan refinery would only be a small part of the capacity needed to meet the demand that Africa’s growing economy would generate.
“When you talk about 700,000 barrels per day, it’s actually small. For the region, it’s a big refinery, it’s a big investment, but it is a start-up,” he said.
“This refinery is not all we are going to do there. It’s just the start… You will see the number of industries that will come around the refinery,” Dangote added.
He identified the need for Africa to stop exporting raw materials and instead produce finished goods that retain more value on the continent as one of the continent’s biggest challenges.
“The biggest problem is that we export raw materials at maybe 5 to 10 per cent of its value, and then we end up buying at 100 per cent of their value.
“We are exporting jobs, because when we keep exporting raw materials, you are creating jobs out there. And when you buy finished products from them… you are importing poverty, because you are not actually creating any jobs here”, he said.
AFP
