Modular refineries confirmed Dangoteâs statement on Nigeriaâs oil mafia, which wants to stop Nigeria from refining crude oil for petrol and other petroleum products.
The modular refinery operators state that they raised similar concerns on many occasions but received no feedback. They also state that the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, re-emphasized their stance last week.
TimesNow.com.ng previously reported that Dangote mentioned the oil mafia and their efforts to stop him from building Africaâs largest refinery.
He disclosed this while speaking at the Afreximbank annual meetings in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Wednesday, June 12.Â
Africa’s richest man named Afreximbank and Access Bank as a big part of the refinery funding.Â
He stated that the vision would have failed without their backing.
The refinery owners, under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), said the merchants have held Nigeria hostage in domestic petroleum products production and are stifling the country’s supply.
Punch reports that Africaâs wealthiest man said local and international oil mafia tried everything to stop him from building the refinery.
Dangote said:
According to him, the rise in food inflation in Nigeria is also due to a hike in petrol prices. He said that in-country refining would help tackle the high costs.
According to reports, modular refineries seek constant crude oil supplies from the US to address a supply gap.
The development comes amid warnings that several modular refinery projects could be stalled due to unreliable domestic supply.
The refinery owners are reportedly seeking imports due to cheap pricing and availability.
This comes as the Dangote Refinery is reportedly planning to establish a refinery terminal in the Caribbean to export petroleum products to countries in the North American region, TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported.
Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Industries, revealed this on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at the Afreximbankâs Trade and Investment Forum in the Bahamas.
Dangote said the company can supply petroleum products to the region within 18 to 20 days.
He said the firm would sign an agreement with the region to construct a terminal for exporting petroleum products.
TimesNow.com.ng previously reported that Petrol prices should crash to about N300 per litre when mass production by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other refineries begins production.
Refinery owners, under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), explained that providing enough crude oil to local refiners would crash the price of petrol, stating that foreign refineries were cheating Nigeria.
