Eluonye Koyegwuaehi
03 November 2013, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Dangote Group of companies has called for collaboration between Organised Private Sector, OPS, and Organised labour for the nation’s industrial sector to perform at optimal level.
This came as the group declared that its planned $9 billion refinery/petrochemical/fertilizer complex in Olokola Free Trade Zone, between Ogun and Ondo states, would create not less than 25,000 jobs during construction expected to last four years.
President of the Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who spoke during the 3rd Quadrennial Delegates Conference (QDC) of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, in Port Harcourt Rivers State, also thumped up the the ongoing reforms in the petroleum sector especially the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Engineer Joseph Makoju, Dangote said: “The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is a bold step that was initiated to correct perceived flaws in the industry as it is intended to address structural, policy and managerial issues in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
“The bill is designed to enhance the value of the sector for the Nigerian people. It also seeks to plug identified loopholes in policies and management agreements and by so doing improve transparency and efficiency of the sector.
“Our Dangote Group has also been attracted by these ongoing reforms in the sector with our recent decision to invest in a mega project in the downstream sector. We are building a $9 billion mega refinery/petrochemical/fertilizer complex in Olokola Free Trade Zone.
“The refinery will have the capacity to refine 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, while the petrochemical plant will produce 600,000MT/year of Polypropylene and 625,000MT/year of Slurry/raw material for carbon black.”
According to him, the fertiliser plants with a capacity for 2.75 MT/year of Ammonia and Urea, will meet entire domestic demand and have surplus for export.
“Certain infrastructure and utilities will be shared, while infrastructure to supply feedstock such as natural gas will be shared as well. The Refinery and Petrochemical Complex as well as the Fertilizer Plants, shall be served by an Off-site Truck Parking Stop, built entirely to international standards with the linkage of all its amenities and communication to the Complex. The project will result in the largest Refinery/Petrochemical/Fertiliser complex in Africa,” he said.
He stated that at completion of the project, Dangote Refinery will meet 100 percent of local demand for refined fuel products, while Polypropylene, which is used in the manufacture of agro-sacks, poly bags and other industrial products, will catalyse the birth of new and allied industries.
“We are estimating that the project will engage up to 25,000 people over a four-year construction period and will create about 3,500 permanent jobs when completed. As more state-owned enterprises are being privatised to ensure they are managed efficiently, there is need for greater collaboration between labour unions like yours that champion the interest of workers on the one hand and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) on the other,” he added.
