The Vice President of Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, disclosed this while playing host to a delegation from the Japanese Business Community in Nigeria, led by Japan’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Suzuki Hideo.

In a statement on Sunday, the company’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, quoted Edwin as confirming that products from the refinery meet international standards and are already being exported globally.

“In recent weeks, we’ve exported petrol to Cameroon, Ghana, Angola, and South Africa, among others. Diesel has gone all over the world, and jet fuel is being heavily exported to European markets. Our products are already making their mark internationally,” Edwin said.

Edwin explained that the facility is the vision of a Nigerian investor – Aliko Dangote, designed and built by Nigerians, and intended to serve the global market.

He said it is a point of pride that a Nigerian company not only designed but also built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex.

According to him, Dangote Industries Limited acted as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor for the refinery, saying cutting-edge technologies from around the world were incorporated to ensure that the facility meets the highest standards.

Edwin assured the ambassador-designate and the delegation that the company is open to collaboration, always striving to maintain the best possible standards.

“Even now, we have a lot of Japanese equipment inside both the refinery and the fertiliser plant. There are significant opportunities for collaboration, as we always seek the latest technology in any business we engage in. For instance, our cement plant laboratory is managed by robots, and we always embrace advanced technology. With Japan’s focus on technological innovation, there is ample scope for cooperation and for supplying various types of technology,” he said.

Edwin also stated that the Dangote Petrochemical project will significantly boost investment in downstream industries, creating substantial value, generating employment, increasing tax revenues, reducing foreign exchange outflows, and contributing to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

He added that by leveraging Africa’s vast crude oil resources to produce refined products locally, the Dangote Group aims to create a virtuous cycle of industrial development, job creation, and economic prosperity.

He reiterated that the refinery’s petroleum products are in demand worldwide, as it expands its polypropylene section to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported polypropylene, a crucial material used in packaging, textiles, and the automotive manufacturing industries.

The statement disclosed that the Japanese delegation hailed the refinery and the petrochemicals complex, describing it as an astonishing masterpiece, showcasing Nigeria’s technological advancements on the global stage.

The Japanese delegation, which toured the facilities housing both the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as well as Dangote Fertilisers, commended the technology, noting that it reinforces Nigeria’s role as the gateway to Africa.

Managing Director of the Japan External Trade Organisation, Takashi Oku, was said to have remarked that while Nigeria remains the gateway to Africa, the refinery stands as a remarkable project that showcases the country’s technological progress.

Oku added that the facility, as the world’s largest single-train refinery, is a point of immense pride for Nigeria.

“We had heard about the excellence of the Dangote Refinery through the media but seeing it in person has left us truly amazed by its vastness and grandeur. It demonstrates that Nigeria’s population is not only growing but also advancing in technology. We are keen to collaborate with Nigerian companies, especially Dangote Refinery,” he said.

Emphasising that the refinery has bolstered Nigeria’s leading position in Africa, he further noted that the facility serves as an ideal introduction to the country for the global community.

The Managing Director of Itochu Nigeria Limited, Masahiro Tsuno, was said to have also praised the sheer size and automation of the Dangote refinery, calling it a miracle and one of the wonders of the world.

“I’ve seen many standalone refineries across the globe, including in Vietnam and the Middle East. However, the size of a refinery built by one single investor is probably a miracle in the world. And I’m just actually witnessing a miracle,” he said.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) disclosed this in its Oil Market Report for September 2022 releases on Tuesday September 13 in Lagos.

The report revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production for August averaged 1.100 million barrels per day which was 65,000mb/d lower than the 1.164mb/d produced averagely in July.

While Angola was Africa’s highest crude oil producer for the month under review with an average production of 1.187mb/d.

Libya’s crude oil production averaged also 1.123mb/d for the period.

The report said: “According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 29.65 mb/d in August, higher by 618,000 month-on-month.Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya and Saudi Arabia, while production in Nigeria declined”

Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 3.5 percent year-on-year this year following growth of 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

“On a quarterly basis, the GDP shrank by 0.37 percent following a 14.66 percent contraction in the previous quarter.Nevertheless, the annual inflation rate surged to the highest since September 2005, climbing to 19.6 percent y-o-y in July from 18.6 percent in June.This was a result of the weakening naira due to continued high imported input costs as well as soaring fuel prices. Moreover, food inflation increased to 22 per cent y-o-y, the highest since May 2021,”  the report added.

Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are countries placed on the list in late November after the emergence of the Omicron variant.

However, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Omicron variant had spread so widely that the rules no longer make much effect.

He told parliament today, Dec. 14: “Now that there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad. Whilst we will maintain our temporary testing measures for international travel we will be removing all 11 countries from the travel red list effective from 4 am tomorrow morning.”

Currently, all UK arrivals from red list countries must pay for and self-isolate in a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days. They must also take Covid tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.

Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia were identified as African nations with direct links or a high volume of travel to China.

The statement read “WHO has identified 13 top priority countries (Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) which either have direct links or a high volume of travel to China. To ensure rapid detection of the novel coronavirus, it is important to have laboratories which can test samples and WHO is supporting countries to improve their testing capacity. Since this is a new virus, there are currently only two referral laboratories in the African region which have the reagents needed to conduct such tests. However, reagent kits are being shipped to more than 20 other countries in the region, so diagnostic capacity is expected to increase over the coming days. Active screening at airports has been established in a majority of these countries and while they will be WHO first areas of focus, the organization will support all countries in the region in their preparation efforts. It is critical that countries step up their readiness and in particular put in place effective screening mechanisms at airports and other major points of entry to ensure that the first cases are detected quickly”.