Victor Ezeja
To address issues associated with logistics, Dangote Petrochemical Refinery has built a facility that enables evacuation of up to 75 per cent of petroleum products from the refinery through sea.
Vice President, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, disclosed this on Sunday during the commencement of distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol by the refinery.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelSpeaking in an interview with newsmen at the refinery complex, Mr Edwin said the company targets increasing sea evacuation to 100 per cent.
He explained that most large refineries globally export petroleum products by ships and for Dangote which is the largest single-train refinery in the world, it has both export facilities by ships and by road.
Addressing concerns raised on social media about flooding Nigerian roads with fuel tankers and the implications, Edwin said the company won’t rely only on the use of trucks to convey petroleum products to different parts of the country.
He said: “75 per cent of the production can be evacuated through sea. In fact, we are ramping up now to make it even 100 per cent. Anything going to Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri, Apapa, Atlas cove, can all be taken through sea. So, only what is eminently required by road can be transported by road.”
“We can avoid traffic congestions on the road by evacuating through sea,” he added.
He emphasised that transporting the products through the sea will also bring down the cost of logistics and ultimately reduce the cost for consumers.
“It will minimize the transport costs and the ultimate cost to the consumers by moving through sea.”
Edwin also stated that the company is open to discussions with off-takers of their products who would want to take the option of building and connecting pipelines.
Speaking on the loading capacity of the facility, he said up to 2,900 tankers can be loaded with various products in a single day. He said 40 tankers can be loaded with PMS simultaneously and actual truck loading time is 40 minutes.
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He said that for now, the refinery can supply 25 million litres daily and will step it up to 50 million in October. He added that going forward, once they get the required quantity of crude, they would deliver as promised.
Prime Business Africa had reported that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) commenced lifting of PMS from the 650,000 barrels per day refinery on Sunday, 15 September.
Part of the agreements reached on crude oil sales in naira between Dangote Refinery and the NNPCL is that the national oil company becomes sole off-taker of PMS from the refinery in exchange for crude all to be paid for in naira starting from October.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
