Dangote Refinery, the world's largest refinery, has started production in Nigeria. This refinery is an achievement for the Nigerian economy and for all those international initiatives that participated in the achievement of this endeavor.
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This refinery could produce 650,000 barrels of oil per day, which is expected to bring a major boost to the Nigerian economy, which, until the inauguration of this large industry, was a major manufacturer dependent on external refining.
"Our first objective is to increase the production of the various products to ensure that this year we can fully meet the national demand for quality products," said the refinery's owner, magnate Dangote in his inaugural speech.
Many foreign companies have participated in this project. One of them was the Chinese company XCGM Machinery, which provided the fundamental infrastructural and heavy support to the Nigerians in this project.
The contribution has included machinery of all types, especially heavy equipment, engineering solutions and construction assistance. More than 2,000 construction machines, such as cranes, backhoe loaders, concrete mixers, etc., have provided services in the last years of construction of the Nigerian refinery.
As early as September 2019, as part of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, XCMG was invited to participate in many of its meetings and conferences, which was the direct precedent for its inclusion in the Dangote Refinery project.
In many cases, its machinery was able to work efficiently for more than 8,000 hours on average. This equipment allowed them to maintain production rates, as their quality and suitability allowed them to provide a quality service in an extreme working environment, which included saltpeter, coastal humidity and high temperatures.
Since the beginning of its first works on the African continent, which started in the last decade of the last century, the Chinese company has been having great results in terms of quality and performance, which has allowed it to gain a great reputation on the continent.
Nigeria has historically had to import petroleum by-products, diesel and gasoline from other countries such as India, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates. This was one of the major paradoxes that overshadowed the African country in the midst of a more aggressive and competitive international market.
The Dangote refinery cost around 19 billion dollars, an increased budget since it was initially defined between 12 and 14 billion dollars. However, the authorities and specialists assure the high standard of modernization of the refinery, which has not only the challenge of ensuring domestic demand, but also allows Nigeria, an oil giant, to export oil derivatives, especially diesel and gasoline, with high standards for the first time.