By CHATULA KANGALI and
NDUBI MVULA in Lagos, Nigeria –
THE $12 billion Dangote Oil Refinery which will be the largest in the world slated for Lagos will be in full operation in 2019 and is expected to produce 650, 000 barrel of oil per day.
The oil plant will also have the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in the world with the capacity to handle 3 billion cubic metres of oil.
DANGOTE
said once the refinery commences full operations it will benefit a lot of countries including Zambia in the imports of the commodity.
Mr Putta said this when a team of Zambian journalists were taken on a conducted tour of the world’s largest oil refinery whose construction works have now reached 15 per cent.
He said that the project located in Likke Free Trade Zone in Lagos was in three phases with the first to be ready by the end of this year while the second one which is actual construction will end in 2018 and the commencement of operation of the refinery in 2019.
Mr Putta said the project is expected to create 60 000 jobs for local Nigerians and 24 000 staff will be accommodated by the company.
“The project is progressing very well between 3000 to 4,000 engineers from within Nigeria will be working here,” he said.
Mr Putta said that the plant was expected to increase Nigeria is foreign exchange by $5.5 million and reduce imports of oil by $7.5 million per year.
He said that the plant, on more than 2000 hactares of land would be environmentally friendly.
Mr Putta said the land has been claimed from the swampy area after they spread sand obtained from the Antlantic ocean using a huge ship from Brazil that ferried the sand to the mainland.
He said that the company was adhering to strict safety standards and guidelines and that no accident was so far recorded.
Mr Putta said that most the equipment to be used by the plant were currently under construction in different countries and that 70 percent of the cranes to be used were so far procured.
Mr Putta said that the fertilizer plants which will the largest in the region would have a production of three million tonnes per annum.
