Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has said she was impressed by the investment in human capital by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
She added that it is deeply inspiring to see young Nigerians, many of whom have never left the country, operate world-class equipment with remarkable skills and professionalism at the refinery.
She commended the refinery for its outstanding engineering achievements and its significant investment in developing young Nigerian talents, as well as its dual focus on world-class infrastructure and exceptional investment in human capital.
She spoke during her official visit to the facility in Lagos, according to a statement from Dangote Refinery on Tuesday.
The minister was quoted to have expressed admiration not only for the vast scale of the physical infrastructure, describing it as “bricks, mortar, and pipelines of extraordinary ambition”, but also for the calibre of talents operating it.
Oduwole said: “We are not just appreciating the scale of the infrastructure: the bricks, mortar and pipelines. We are equally impressed by the investment in human capital.
It is deeply inspiring to see young Nigerians, many of whom have never left the country, operating world-class equipment with remarkable skills and professionalism.
“As a lecturer myself, I take great pride in witnessing their excellence in engineering. It is nothing short of exceptional.”
She also praised Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and the visionary behind the project, for his continued commitment to industrial transformation in Nigeria.
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“Listening to Alhaji Dangote speak about this project is always a source of inspiration. This is not just a refinery—it is a bold statement of what is possible. This is Lagos, Nigeria, and there is truly nowhere else in the world with a facility of this kind at this scale,” she said.
Vice President, Oil & Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Edwin Deva-kumar, highlighted the world-class capabilities of the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery during a presentation to the minister.
According to Devakumar, the refinery produces Euro-V quality petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and polypropylene, meeting 100 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic demand for refined petroleum products, with a surplus available for export.
He emphasised that the refinery incorporates the latest technologies to ensure environmental compliance while delivering clean and globally competitive fuels.
He noted that the refinery includes a fully self-sufficient marine terminal for crude oil offtake and product loading, as well as an integrated steam and power generation system with a 435MW capacity—enough to supply the entire electricity demand of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, which covers Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and Ekiti.
“We are one of the very few companies in the world to have executed both a petroleum refinery and a petrochemical complex directly as an EPC contractor,” he said.
“We sent engineers for overseas training and employed around 60,000 skilled Nigerians during construction, offering them valuable experience in various aspects of construction, testing and commissioning.”
Devakumar added that many of the Nigerian engineers, technicians and others trained by the company are now working as expatriates not just across Africa but as far afield as the United Arab Emirates, contributing to Nigeria’s foreign remittance inflow.
