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Nigeria commissions 650,000 bpd largest single-train refinery in the world

Published

2 weeks ago

May 22, 2023

Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated Dangote refinery project which is the largest single-train refinery in the world, and the largest oil refinery in Africa, in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital.

Buhari, who is due to leave office next week after an eight-year reign, urged the incoming government to “sustain the improvement in Nigeria’s economy and business environment and stress on the framework of our government partnership to accelerate the growth of our economic development”.

“I am going to be leaving our economy in competent hands and I congratulate the Chairman and the Board of Directors and the management of Dangote Group for their notable contribution to the industrialisation of our economy and that of our continent,” Buhari added.

The 1,100 kilometers refinery, built to handle 3 Billion Standard Cubic Foot of gas per day is located on a 6,180-acre (2,500-hectare) location in the Lekki Free Zone of the state.

The chairman of the firm, Aliko Dangote stated at the opening stated that beyond the ceremony, the company’s first goal was to ramp up production of the various products to ensure that within this year, we are able to fully satisfy the nation’s demand for quality products.

“There will be constant availability of high-quality fuels for our transportation sector, the refinery will also make available to our industries vital raw materials for a wide range of manufacturing.”

Dangote added that the refinery’s “first products will be in the market before the end of July, beginning of August this year.”

None of Nigeria’s publicly-owned refineries has worked to capacity for years despite several investments to revive them. The failure of both the previous and current governments has contributed to the high level of national anticipation surrounding the Dangote refinery.

About 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Niger Delta oil reserves would be transferred through a pipeline to the Dangote refinery site for operations.

The refinery is projected to meet 100% of the Nigerian oil demands and surplus for export.

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Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

15 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

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Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

15 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.