Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, has announced that petrol production at the company’s refinery was disrupted due to a fire incident.
This setback comes after Dangote had initially stated on May 18 that the refinery would commence petrol production in May, ensuring Nigeria’s self-sufficiency and eliminating the need for imports.
However, on June 11, Dangote revealed that a minor delay had occurred, pushing back the start of petrol supply to July.
In his latest update, given to journalists during a visit to the refinery in Lagos on Saturday, Dangote confirmed that premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, is now expected to be ready by August.
Despite the delays, Dangote remains committed to achieving his goal of making Nigeria self-sufficient in petrol production, a significant milestone for the country’s energy sector.
“PMS was supposed to be out by July but we had a fire incident,” the billionaire said.
“The incident disrupted us for a few days but latest 10 or 12 of August, PMS will be ready.”
A section of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery caught fire on June 26.
Anthony Chiejina, a spokesperson at Dangote Industries Limited, told TheCable that the incident occurred at the effluent treatment plant (ETP).
An ETP is a type of wastewater treatment method which is specifically designed to purify industrial wastewater for its reuse — to release safe water to the environment from the harmful effects caused by the effluent.
