Following the supply of two million barrels of crude oil as a part of the necessities for its takeoff, the Dangote refinery will steam to an historic begin in early 2024.
The large petrochemical undertaking, which sits on a 6,180 acre land on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, has gulped roughly $20 billion within the seven years of its development.
At full manufacturing, the world’s largest single prepare refinery will course of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day which correspond to 103.34 million litres of petrol. It has the capability to additionally course of diesel, aviation gas, fertiliser, kerosene and different residual merchandise, reminiscent of asphaltene, which are sure to change Nigeria’s vitality panorama and financial trajectory.
As Africa’s largest oil-producing nation, with an annual output of 69 million metric tonnes of crude oil out of the continent’s 332.2 million metric tones in 2021, Nigeria is paradoxically a internet importer of refined petrol. It carried this burden for years after the 4 state-owned refineries had been grounded for lack of turnaround upkeep.
Moreover, the nation additionally wrestled with an opaque paperwork that shrouded the importation of refined gas and cost of gas subsidy below successive governments. However President Bola Tinubu has lastly blocked the drainpipes.
For this reason the state-of-the-art Dangote refinery can’t be seen merely because the achievement of a private ambition of its 66-year-old promoter and Africa’s wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote. It’s fairly frankly way more than that.
Being an exceptional industrial behemoth and a nationwide monument, the refinery has certainly bolstered Nigeria’s place as a key participant within the world vitality area. Dangote’s final objective, if one could guess, is to halt Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum merchandise and create a self-sustaining vitality ecosystem for Africa’s most populous nation.
The model worth of Dangote refinery subsequently extends past the capitalist motive of revenue optimisation which Nigeria’s free economic system nonetheless sanctions. One might think about the direct multiplier results when the refinery finally creates 135,000 everlasting jobs, contributes to important abilities growth and know-how switch, and accelerates the incubation of a military of small and medium scale entrepreneurs among the many youth and girls.
At full operation, it’s going to meet the complete home demand for refined petrol in Nigeria estimated presently at 40 million barrels per day and likewise increase the nation’s international reserves as oil accounts for about 90% of the export earnings.
An fascinating twist is that the Dangote refinery has now positioned Nigeria on the heart of worldwide debate on fossil gas and greenhouse fuel emissions attributable to bulk delivery.
Particularly, it has been argued that bulk ships with their heavy discharge of greenhouse gases are key drivers of carbon footprints in lots of nations. Nonetheless because the dialog gathered momentum eager observers have argued that oil and fuel will stay a core a part of the world’s vitality combine for a lot of many years.
A current McKinsey report signifies that about 35 % of the projected $3 trillion world vitality investments by the years 2040 shall be deployed in fossil fuels.
Little marvel Europe and Asia aren’t slowing down on oil importation. Maybe greater than any area, Europe has maintained a excessive quantity of oil import because it took roughly 14.4 million barrels per day in 2022 whereas China trailed it with 12.2 million barrels.
Considered towards this actuality, Africa have to be granted the reprieve to utilise its crude oil reserve of 125.3 billion barrels for the prosperity of its 1.419 billion individuals, simply as Nigeria is poised to use its oil reserves of 36.9 billion barrels for the nation’s growth.
Granted that Nigeria is sure by UN Framework Conference on Local weather Change (UNFCCC) because it ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004 and the Paris Settlement in 2017. This was along with its pledged Nationally Decided Contribution to cut back greenhouse fuel emissions by 45 % conditionally by 2030.
However reality is, the greenhouse fuel emissions are pushed by a number of interconnected components. These embody gas based mostly vitality technology, inefficient waste administration practices, unsustainable industrial actions, inhabitants development and fast urbanization.
Whereas these are causes for real issues, historic information nonetheless signifies that Nigeria’s carbon emission footprint within the final six many years has elevated solely in arithmetic development.
From a document low of three,406.64 kilo tons in 1960, it has averaged 75,078.22 kilo tons over the previous six many years, and solely reached an all time excessive of 127,029.25 kilo tons in 2021. However this pales into insignificance when put next with over 2.2 million kilo tons of emission attributed to India in 2020 alone.
On the flip aspect, transportation sector is held accountable for emitting a number of the most noxious gases globally. Ships engines are identified to emit harmful carbons reminiscent of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and carbon dioxide as they dive via the stomach of the ocean on intercontinental enterprise voyage.
Whereas transportation sector is estimated to emit roughly seven billion metric tons of the worldwide carbon dioxide a 12 months, the delivery sub sector is held chargeable for virtually 10 % of the emissions.
Even inside the delivery sub sector, bulk ships that carry oil are identified to emit 440 million metric tons of carbon dioxide on common, whereas container ships emitted 140 million metric tons per 12 months in 2020. These pose important menace to the atmosphere and set off local weather change impacts all over the world.
At the moment, emissions from delivery have elevated by six % to achieve a document excessive of 710 million metric tons from a complete of 53.8 billion metric tons of worldwide carbon dioxide equal emitted in 2022. It’s only the home manufacturing of crude oil by a excessive impression refinery as Dangote that may save the nation and remainder of the world from the dangerous results of carbon dioxide.
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No much less mitigation function is predicted of an ultramodern refinery that was conceived based mostly on the promoter’s fastidious obsession for adoption of the easiest digital know-how in all items of the gargantuan industrial advanced.
Not stunning that Dangote refinery’s Nelson advanced index is rated at 10.5 whereas most refineries within the US and Europe are listed 9.5 and 6.5 respectively. This means that the capability and amount of its chemical process are greater than these of many refineries in Europe and America
Evidently, Dangote Refinery absolutely aligns with world efforts to transition in direction of cleaner vitality sources. Whereas the refinery primarily focuses on petroleum merchandise, it additionally features a polypropylene plant, emphasizing a diversified strategy that comes with petrochemicals and derivatives.
This diversification not solely provides worth to the refinery’s output but in addition positions Nigeria strategically within the world petrochemical market. Contemplating the grim actuality of the grave carbon risks related to gas importation, it’s incontrovertible that home processing of oil by Dangote refinery will reduce carbon emissions and promote a extra sustainable and environmentally pleasant vitality provide chain in Nigeria.
Akoshile, an environmental journalist and Doctoral researcher on dynamics of local weather change, wrote through [email protected]
