President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote has said the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has enough fuel in storage to sufficiently meet the local needs of Nigeria.

According to a statement issued on Sunday, Dangote gave this assurance that the oil refinery has “More than half a billion litres of petroleum and over 600 billion Naira worth of products in its tanks.

Dangote said: “As we speak right now we have more than half a billion litres. The Refinery is producing enough refined products, like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirements.”

Speaking after a tour of the Refinery complex by a Zambia Government delegation, led by the country’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Makozo Chikote, Dangote stated that the refinery project, like other projects in the past, is not for Nigeria alone.

He said: “This refinery is not only for Nigeria; it is for Africa. We must sustain the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal. We are trying to see how we trade with other African countries.

Chikote said his takeaway from the Dangote Refinery working visit was that the President, Aliko Dangote, is truly focused on the bigger picture for Africa.

Chikote, who led a delegation of energy experts to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to partner with Zambia on energy solutions, expressed satisfaction and readiness to work with the African manufacturing giant.

According to the statement, after a tour of the Dangote complex at the Free Trade Zone, Ibeju Lekki, starting from the Single Point Mooring to the Dangote Jetty, the biggest fertiliser plant in Africa and the 650,000bpd largest single-train refinery in the world, the Minister enthused that the presentation by the Vice President, Oil and Gas of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Edwin Devakumar, made their hearts “jump”.

He stated that the presentation speaks to the challenges of his country, Zambia.

He said: “In Zambia, we created an environment for the private sector to participate in the growth and development of our country. Currently, 100 per cent of our petroleum is done by the private sector.

“We are targeting increased productivity in mining, agriculture, and other sectors. Your presentation is an immediate solution to our energy needs. We are trying to promote competition among our private players

“We are looking at Dangote coming on board, which would lead to efficient, reliable, quality, and competitive products, and we want these done like yesterday.”