The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has described the Dangote Refinery as a “world-class facility,” praising its scale, technology, and operational performance following a tour of the complex on Saturday.
Ojulari made the remarks while addressing journalists after inspecting several sections of the refinery, including the master control room, during a visit hosted by billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote.
Speaking at the briefing, Ojulari said Nigerians should appreciate the leadership behind the project, noting what he called the “audacity” required to deliver a refinery of such magnitude.
“Nigerians, we should be grateful for the leadership and the inspiration of Alhaji [Aliko Dangote] and the Dangote Group for what my colleague called the audacity to embark on such a huge project,” he said.
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He added that seeing the facility firsthand offered a clearer perspective on its sophistication.
“There’s nothing like being here physically to actually see things for yourself. What we are seeing here is what I call the frontline of world-class technology,” he said.
Drawing on his engineering background, Ojulari said initial concerns about the refinery’s single-train configuration had been allayed after observing its architecture and built-in redundancies.
“Coming here and seeing the architecture of the plant and the redundancy that has been given… you see that despite being a single train, it has an incredibly high availability,” Ojulari said.
The NNPC boss explained that the refinery leverages advanced digital, artificial intelligence, and mechanical systems, enabling it to benefit from global best practices.
‘Nigeria Should Be Proud’
Ojulari also expressed pride in the refinery’s output, revealing that performance indicators exceeded expectations.
“This plant has now been tested to its full capacity, above its full capacity… seeing it live, the parameters we are seeing are live parameters,” he said, adding that “every Nigerian should be proud that such an edifice is actually in Nigeria.”
Expansion plans
The NNPC chief disclosed that discussions during the visit also covered plans to expand the facility through replication of existing infrastructure to boost capacity and efficiency.
“The expansion of the plant is in hand, which means that we will double the capacity… leveraging all common facilities… which means replication will be coming at a much lower capex,” he said.
He congratulated Dangote on the project, reiterating NNPC’s position as a shareholder and expressing optimism about the refinery’s future impact on Nigeria’s energy system.
