Nigeria: Press focuses on production of diesel, aviation fuel by Dangote Refinery in January, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that Dangote Refinery is set to start producing diesel, and viation fuel in January 2024, while the production of petrol, is being delayed by the supply of crude oil in installments is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that Dangote Petroleum Refinery is set to start producing Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel, and JetA1 or aviation fuel in January 2024, while the production of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, is being delayed by the supply of crude oil in installments.
It was gathered on Sunday that the facility would require a minimum of six million barrels of crude oil to kick-start the full production of refined petroleum products including AGO, PMS, Jet A1 and Dual Purpose Kerosene, otherwise called kerosene.
But what the refinery got last week was one million barrels of crude, while the remaining five million barrels would arrive at the $20bn facility in another five installments.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Project, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, is a 650,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery, located in Dangote Industries Free Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria.
It pointed out that the October production target miss made it the second time in 2023 that Dangote Refinery would raise hopes in Africa, especially Nigeria, of a possible end to petrol importation.
Following The PUNCH’s report, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited swiftly declared the next day November 3, 2023, that it was set to provide six million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery. It, however, has yet to do so.
But on Friday, the management of Dangote Refinery confirmed the receipt of one million barrels of crude oil, adding that this would lead to the production of refined products at the facility.
The newspaper says that more industries that are dependent on imported raw materials may shut down in coming months while Nigeria Customs Service revenue is expected to decline as imports through official channels become more difficult due to high import duty, a new research report has revealed.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had on Thursday increased the exchange rate for cargo clearance from N783/dollar to N952/dollar.
Clearing agents and importers had said the development would deplete the fortune of operators in the maritime sector, lamenting that the industry was already reeling under the burden of a worsening business climate.
The new report was released on Sunday by the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, a local think tank.
The Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, in the report said the hike in exchange rate for cargo clearance was a greater incentive for smuggling.
Before Thursday’s hike, the CBN had in June adjusted the exchange rate from N422.30/$ to N589/$. In July, it was re-adjusted to N770.88/$, and again in November, it was re-adjusted to N783.174/$.
Muda said that the latest review would make the cost of importation through official channels even more prohibitive.
The Guardian reports that Nigeria has lost over 15 foreign businesses in the last three years to unfavourable environment, according to data from the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
The information added that over 20,000 workers had either divested or partially closed operations.
This, according to the body, has dire consequences not only for organised businesses, but also for labour, government revenue and households.
Last week, global brand, Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced its departure from Nigeria after GlaxoSmithKline had earlier announced its.
Other global brands like French pharmaceutical titan, Sanofi-Aventis and Norwegian energy leader, Equinor had divested.
Expressing the association’s reservations, the Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, noted that the divestments would seriously affect the Federal Government’s efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Equally, Director-General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, lamented how toxic the country’s operating environment is, thus encouraging relocation.
He said the number of jobs lost in the manufacturing sector rose to the highest in three years in the first half of 2023.
The MAN boss submitted that the country needed investments to create more jobs, explaining that what shapes a country is decisive by leaders to positively improve the lot of the citizenry.
The newspaper says that leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met yesterday in Abuja for talks about the region’s deepening crisis, after four countries fell under military rule and with risks growing from Sahel jihadist conflicts.
After coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger since 2020, the 15-nation ECOWAS bloc also saw member states – Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau – report attempted coups in recent weeks.
The regional bloc has decided to set up a committee of three leaders to negotiate with Niger’s military junta on a transition to democratic rule and to consider easing sanctions, just as President Bola Tinubu, who is the Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said the Sahel Alliance by Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which is under military dictatorship would not lessen ECOWAS’ resolve to uphold its primary objective.
A French military withdrawal from the Sahel — the region along the Sahara Desert across Africa — is increasing concerns over conflicts spreading south to Gulf of Guinea states like Ghana, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast. Transitions back to democracy and elections have also been stalled or left uncertain in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
After French troops began leaving the region, military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, struggling with jihadist violence, hardened their positions and joined forces in an Alliance of Sahel States.
Last month, armed attackers stormed military posts, prisons and police stations in another ECOWAS member Sierra Leone, in what the government called a coup attempt that killed 21 people. A week later, Guinea-Bissau also denounced an attempted coup, with fighting between the national guard and special forces of the presidential guard.
At Sunday’s summit in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, ECOWAS decided to set up a committee of leaders from Togo, Sierra Leone and Benin to engage the Niger junta to agree “on a short transition roadmap” and work “towards the speedy restoration of constitutional order.
“Based on the outcomes of the engagement by the committee of heads of state with the Niger junta, the authority will progressively ease the sanctions imposed on Niger,” ECOWAS said.
GIK/APA