Mafia In Oil Sector Tried To Sabotage My Refinery – Africa’s Richest Man, Dangote Reveals

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, revealed that both local and international criminal organizations (Mafia) have attempted multiple times to prevent his $19 billion refinery project from becoming a reality.

Dangote mentioned that he has successfully returned approximately $2.4 billion out of the $5.5 billion he received as a loan to construct the refinery.

He indicated that numerous groups have made every effort to hinder the operation of the 650,000 barrels per day facility.

Dangote addressed the Afreximbank annual meetings and AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Wednesday.

He acknowledged that opposition was inevitable, yet he didn’t expect the level of resistance to be so severe.

“Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact. The local and foreign mafia tried several times to sabotage the refinery from coming to fruition,” Dangote said.

According to Dangote, the mafias had made several attempts to defeat him, describing himself as a fighter.

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“But I’m a person that has been fighting all my life. You know, so I think it’s part of my life to fight,” he said.

On if he was receiving enough crude oil as feedstock for his refinery from the international oil companies (IOCs), Dangote said: “In a system where for 35 years people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.

“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent, of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there.”

DANGOTE UNVEILS PLAN TO ESTABLISH PETROL TERMINAL CARIBBEAN

Earlier at the Afreximbank’s Trade and Investment Forum, Dangote spoke on his plan to establish a terminal in the Caribbean for exporting petroleum products to North American countries.

The Africa’s richest man mentioned that the company is capable of delivering petroleum products to the region in just 18 to 20 days.

The Nigerian billionaire also stated that a bilateral agreement will be signed with the region to build the terminal for exporting their petroleum products.

Dangote said: “I know the price in the Caribbean in terms of petroleum products is very high. We produce it cheaply. We can always bring it here. We can set up a terminal and we’ll be able to fix their needs.

“We will have a bilateral agreement with them, and also, bringing in stuff from there is not more than 18 to 20 days maximum. And then we need to set up a terminal.

“Once we set up a terminal, they will have a very cheap oil. They will have cheap energy. And by having cheap energy, their own economy will grow faster.”

Dangote also highlighted that his firm is not solely interested in investing in the oil and gas sector within the region but also in the cement sector.

He stressed that the firm’s capacity to manufacture cement is near 52 million tons and is anticipated to increase to approximately 62 million tons by the end of the next year.

The business executive also mentioned that the company has the capability to meet the demands of the Caribbean market by forming a mutually advantageous agreement with the local market.

“It’s not only about the oil. We now have a capacity of almost 52 million cement capacity. By the end of next year, we will be at 62 million of cement capacity.

“We are not only saying that we can bring in from Nigeria or from Africa. If they have limestones, we can also produce what can satisfy them. We’ve done that before in Africa and we should be able to free them up from the shackles of other people.

“If we the ingredients like the limestone, it’s a 28 months maximum. They can all be self-sufficient. It will be a win-win between us and them,” Dangote said.

It’s important to mention that the Dangote refinery, boasting a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels, is being hailed as the “turning point” in the oil and gas industry.

It will hold the title of the biggest in both Africa and Europe when it starts operating at full capacity in the coming year.