Dangote votes $3bn for 540km crude offshore pipeline from N/Delta to Lekki refinery
Ahead of 2018 delivery of the premium value refinery in Lekki Penunsula in 2018, Dangote Group is about concluding plans to embark on $3 billion project for a 540-kilometre pipeline from Niger Delta to the Lekki free trade zone in Lagos.
This was revealed Wednesday by the Chief Strategy Officer of Dangote Group, Dr. Abdul Muktar at the annual roundtable session of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (LCCI) Power Sector Group.
Whereas the scheme is expected to come on board by the first quarter of 2019 with three billion cubic metres of gas per day he said the relevance of gas power cannot be over emphasized, as lack of it can cascade into manufacturing issues and subsequent national economic concerns.
Muktar, who described the project as a game changer in the industry, advanced that apart from the scarcity of forex in recent times, power has primarily been the major challenge faced by the manufacturing sector. “And the problem we also have in the power sector is unavailability of gas.”
He cited that only 25 per cent of the 250 million cubic feet of gas needed to run the Dangote cement plant per day is available, “this has made the company resort to coal and is not too environmental friendly.”
The project he said is necessary at this time because the jittery nature of the nation’s economy with another negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of -2.24 per cent recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics makes it three quarters of negative growth, which is disheartening.
He added that such growth had only been recorded in the country 29 years ago and that makes it critical.
