Dangote Refinery saves Nigeria N10 billion annually

Dangote Refinery has been described as a national landmark which must be cherished and protected by all Nigerians, taking into consideration its significant contributions to the national economy since it began refining petroleum products just over two years.

Within these few years, Dangote Refinery has been able to drastically curtail PMS/diesel importations, stabilise Naira, create thousands of jobs, and positioning Nigeria as a regional energy hub by strengthens the nation’s energy supply.

Mr. Sunday Esan, Senior General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dangote Industries Limited, stated this while speaking on “Unlocking Opportunities for Businesses in a Challenging Economy: The Role of the Media/Roadmaps to Energy Security in Nigeria” at the 2025 Press Week Lecture of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, at Lagos Television in Ikeja, on Wednesday, November 25.

Mr. Sunday Esan said Dangote Refinery has saved Nigeria several billions of Naira as fuel imports reduced by 54% in first quarter of 2025, as of 2024 first quarter, Nigeria spent $2.6 billion and by the first quarter of 2025, it reduced to $1.2 billion.

“Dangote Refinery has saved Nigeria over 10 billion Naira annually in foreign exchange by replacing imports with local production. The refinery has  significantly curtailed oil imports. Dangote Refinery is more than a national landmark; removing foreign exchange outflows, driving GDP growth, creating jobs, and positioning Nigeria as a regional energy hub, and strengthening the nation’s energy supply,” said Esan.

On the capacity of the refinery, Esan said the refinery is reviewing its daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels to 1.4 million barrels per day, explaining the refinery is daily attracting international interests as ARAMCO, one of the biggest refineries in the world, and the US have indicated interests in its Jet fuel.

Esan said the size of Dangote Refinery is about seven times the size of Victoria Island in Lagos and takes a minimum of five hours to tour the refinery by car, saying “So this explains the magnitude of the investments that just one person, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has decided to take in the country.”

Explaining that it is not that the Crude for Naira Policy is cheap but only saves Dangote Refinery the stress involved in sourcing for dollars, Esan said the 4000 CNG trucks acquired to distribute refined products have created no fewer than 24,000 jobs.

Reacting to the recent redeployment of some staff following the recent faceoff between Dangote Refinery and petroleum and energy workers, he said Dangote management has obligations to deploy staff on its payroll to where their competencies are needed mostly.

On the media role for energy security, Esan emphasised the need for the media, particularly the NUJ, setting agenda and reporting accurately issues that affect the energy sector and the overall wellbeing of the nation and her citizens, maintaining that it is not in the interest of the nation that Dangote Refinery be pulled down.

“We want your members to come and visit the refinery. So that the reports will be accurate and different. When some people are bent on pulling it down, you will see it as our own asset that we have to protect,” said he.

Earlier in his address, the NUJ Chairman, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi, said the lecture was an auspicious event for speakers and participants to highlight and dissect salient challenges affecting the nation’s energy sector while acknowledging efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria in harnessing potentials in the energy sector for the good of the nation.

Reacting to the Esan position on media setting agenda, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi, corroborated by Mr. Sylva Okereke, a former Secretary of the Lagos State Council of NUJ, said the Union is always up in setting agenda both at the state and federal levels on national issues.

They both reiterated the need for Dangote and other stakeholders in the energy sector to be opened and partner media in the interest of the nation.

On his part, Mr. Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor at Vanguard Newspapers and another key speaker at the event, stated that businesses can benefit significantly from strong partnerships with the media, gaining credible information essential for daily decision-making. He challenged the media to uphold credibility in their reporting to strengthen trust with the business community.