TheCable

Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, says the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery being constructed by Aliko Dangote, “should be enough to meet local needs”.

Kachikwu made this statement while speaking at the ongoing 24th Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa.

“That should be enough to meet local needs,” he said adding that the country is close to finalising the process for private investors to revamp the exiting refineries.

He said this will add a total of 450,000 bpd to local output and reduce reliance on imports on petroleum products.

Kachikwu said 26 companies have indicated interest in the process that is expected to gulp $2 billion.

“We are almost at a threshold of finalising the process of selection,” he said, adding that it could announce its selection by January or February.

“If we get to 1.8 (million), then we need to say ‘hey, close off the taps’, because we need to comply.

“The market is balancing fast …. But do we need to see more cuts? We’ll see,” he said.

The production cut was first agreed on in December and two countries, Nigeria and Libya, were exempted from the cuts to allow them stabilise their oil production.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Dangote described the refinery as his life project.