Ugandans tour Dangote Refinery, located in Lagos, Nigeria recently
Kampala, Uganda I HABARI DAILY I Ugandan officials have applauded Dangote for the initiative to construct Africa’s biggest crude oil refinery, saying it will significantly reduce forex exchange hemorrhage to developed countries.
The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote oil refinery which was 97% had over 15,000 workers on the site and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, will help Nigeria curtail its reliance on imported oil.
“In addition to strengthening our working relationship with the Dangote group, the information we have procured will help develop its own crude oil refinery,” said Proscovia Nabbanja, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) Chief Executive Officer.
She was part of a recent tour of the refinery complex, which is set to make Nigeria self-reliant in oil.
The visit was on the sidelines of the 7th Annual Sub Sahara Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, which took place in Lagos, Nigeria recently.
The refinery was initially 100% owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, but the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporate acquired 20% of the stake in 2021 at a cost of US$2.7 billion.
Uganda is currently planning to construct a 60,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery at an estimated cost of $4 billion with UNOC having a 40% stake. During the construction phase, Uganda’s refinery project is estimated to have over 5,000 workers on site.
