Dangote Refinery to start coupling of plants soon

Coupling of plants will commence  soon at the  Dangote Refinery and  Petrochemical and fertilizer complex but not until the  current work on soil  investigation is completed, Medhav Keikar,the site general manager  for the  refinery has said.

The $3.3 billion refinery, Petrochemical and fertilizer complex  is expected to commence operations  in 2018, even though most works are expected to be completed by 2017.

The refinery  and petrochemical and  fertilizer complex which is sitting on  a 2,600 hectares of land at the  Lekki Free Trade Zone, in Lekki , Lagos  has the capacity  to produce 650,000  barrels of crude oil per day and  is the going  to be the largest in Africa when completed.

Medhav Keikar  who briefed Journalists on the state of things at the complex  while conducting them through a facility tour said that the work is going as planned adding that the level of expertise and work done on the refinery site so far is amazing.

He disclosed that the in few months  time coupling of plants will commence after Jan De Nul Group a construction and maintenance marine infrastructure  which is doing the soil investigation  must have completed  its work.

“The most critical element is the soil structure, after which the assembling of plant layout will be done which takes a couple of months,” said Medhav Kelkar

He explained that the type of work the company is doing has not been done in any part of the world before. “This has never been done in any part of the world, with top level of precision and expertise and standard equipments used on the site.”

“Dangote Group is making history as the only indigenous film constructing the Largest Single Train Refinery in the world with the state of the art equipments and top notch expertise around the world, Unlike other refineries that are built in porches and different locations, no refinery is as massive as this,” he said.

With this project, Nigeria is going to be self-sufficient with the economy improving in no time.

The site general manager said the vision is not only to supply to domestic market, but to export to neighboring African countries and world markets, adding that this would lead to saving a significant amount of Foreign exchange (Forex) and generating a significant amount of Forex for the economy.

The petrochemical plant will produce 750,000 MTPY of polypropylene while the fertiliser project will produce 2.8 mtpa of urea and ammonia daily

Commenting on the readiness of the jetty that would service the refinery ,Emmanual Chukwu, project manager said:“The jetty field where the crude will be discharged and transported to the refinery is about 95 per cent completed. The Jetty which will provide logistic to the refinery will be used to bring raw materials for the refinery and the fertiliser plant.”

The projects he said have effectively taken off, with the award of Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, Contract to Saipem of Italy for the Fertilizer Plant. For the refinery project the award of Basic Engineering Design and Optimization has been made to UOP, of the Honeywell Group of USA, and award of Project Management Consultancy has been made to Engineers India Ltd, a Government of India Undertaking.

The Fertilizer Project will produce when it starts operation, 2.75 mtpa of Urea and Ammonia, while the Refinery will have the capacity to process 600,000 bpd, of crude oil. The refinery will produce gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel/ household kerosene, slurry as raw material for carbon black, as well as 650,000 mtpa of polypropylene.”

Dangote said Aliko Dangote at the $3.3billion loan signing ceremony for Petroleum Refinery, Petrochemical and Fertilizer projects located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone on September 4, 2013

Olusola Bello