Dangote Refinery deepens local content with 120 contracts valued at over $368m
Emerging 650,000bpd capacity Dangote Refinery, Lekki in Lagos Nigeria, has so far awarded $368m worth of contracts to 120 local contractors in line with the prevailing Nigerian oil industry content development initiative.
This was revealed by the Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr Devakumar Edwin during a recent media tour by officials of the Nigerian Union of Journalists and the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations.
In a statement issued by the Group, Edwin noted that the refinery would lead to significant skills transfer and technology acquisition opportunities in the country.
Apart from awarding contracts based on local content provisions, Edwin averred that the company is currently partnering with the Lagos State government and Siemens in the skills development of the local community for employment at the construction site going forward.
Explaining more, the Executive Director noted that “We have already trained and employed 250 artisans. The company has completed the overseas training of the first and second batches of Nigerian engineers. The third batch left for Indian classroom training for one month, on-the-job training for one year and working in real time with experts in the industry every day.”
On employment, he disclosed that Dangote Refinery had employed 3,580 Nigerian personnel on site, adding, “this excludes employment by the various contractors and subcontractors at the site.”
Other job creation schemes currently ongoing at the refinery showed that in partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the trio have kicked off a training programme for 200 youths in its host communities, as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Edwin added that as part of design, Dangote Refinery had imported the world’s largest reactor regenerator as well as a crude column, which is equivalent to 30-storied building weighing about 100 fully loaded trucks.
He assured that Dangote refinery could meet Nigeria’s requirement of all liquid products, such as petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel, and would have a surplus of each of the products for export.
