Dangote to commence sale of petrol early September, official confirms

•Academy, others laud refinery’s standards

Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, has affirmed that Dangote Petroleum Refinery would commence production of Premium Motor Spirit and get it to the market by the first week of September 2024. He made the affirmation while commending groups of engineers, who visited the refinery on assessment tour, describing the visit as encouraging.

The visitors, including Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), commended Dangote Petroleum Refinery for the application of world-class technology and engineering innovation in the construction of the refinery.

They observed that the refinery followed a very high level of engineering standard in construction, noting that the tools deployed for the project were European standard.

NAE President, Prof. Rahamon Adisa Bello, gave the commendation when he led a group of engineers from the academy, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) on a technical visit to the refinery at the weekend.

Bello, represented by the immediate past president of NAE, Prof. Azikiwe Onwualu, affirmed that all the engineering facilities were in compliance with the European Union standards, adding: “This is probably the highest you can think about engineering standards in the world.”

Bello said: “The importance of adhering to standards is that you are sure of the processes through which you make a product, you follow standards, and then because of that, the product you are getting at the end will also meet those standards. And they have very excellent quality assurance laboratories. So, we are satisfied with all the standards we’ve seen and ensuring that those standards are met in their manufacturing processes.”

President of COREN, Sadiq Zubair, argued that with the full participation of local experts, it was an affirmation that creating opportunities for Nigerian engineers would enhance their competence and participation in projects.

According to him, the refinery will change the present experience of the country in this very critical sector of the economy, stressing that the engineering bodies will support the refinery project to become successful.

On her part, the President of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, explained that the refinery was a huge investment built with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, adding that it portrayed a ray of hope for better days in Nigeria.