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Dangote Refinery project to boost activities in downstream, says LCCI

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The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase has described as magnificent and spectacular the impact the Dangote Oil Refinery project would have on the Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

Ruwase, who led members of the chamber on a tour of Dangote Jetty, Refinery and Fertilizer plants recently in Lagos, expressed excitement over the pace of work at the Refinery and Fertilizer plants, which he described as a game changer for the Nigeria oil sector.

He commended the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the enormous investment in Africa, saying, “Dangote’s patriotism remains unparalleled when it comes to investment and that his investments in many sectors have been a key factor behind Nigeria’s improving economy. Dangote is doing so much to positively impact the lives of Nigerians through the production of household products.”

He said the world is waiting for Dangote Oil Refinery project to bail Nigeria out from the clutches of importation of petroleum products. “This project is the first of its kind. There is no investor in Nigeria that has developed the courage to come up with such gigantic project. From what we have seen today, we now have a better perception about the project. From what we have seen on ground, it shows that the project is a reality and it is possible for Nigeria to become exporter of petroleum product,” he said.

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He also commended the company for building a jetty to carter for the movement of heavy equipment to the refinery site. “This will greatly reduce the congestion at Apapa port and also help to cut down traffic on the Apapa road,” he added.

Ruwase therefore appealed to other investors to thread the pact of Dangote by investing heavily in the Nigerian economy.

Speaking on the progress made so far, Head, Quality Assurance/Quality Control, Dangote Oil Refinery Company Limited, Rama Rao Putta, described the project as the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world with capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

He said the refinery will lead to the protection of forex revenue of around $16 billion a year at current market prices and saving of $10 billion a year through domestic supplies of petroleum products.

Putta said that the refinery is going to create 100,000 indirect employments through retail outlets and ease availability of petroleum products in the country.

He noted that the company has completed the training of the first and second batches of Nigerian Engineers in India and that the employees were being acclimatized at site.

Speaking also at the event, General Manager of Dangote Fertilizer Limited, Anurag Jaiswal, described Dangote Fertiliser project as the largest granulated urea fertilizer complex coming up in the entire fertilizer industry history in the world.

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He put the investment at $2 billion with capacity to handle three million tonnes yearly.

Jaiswal, said the impact on the economy of Nigeria and the entire region cannot be over-emphasized.

“This is going to be one of the largest single capacity complex in the world producing in total 8,000 tonnes of urea daily. We’ll be having two trains of ammonia and two trains of urea and each train will produce 4,000 tonnes. So in a year it will be 3 million tonnes.

“It is much expensive to import from abroad due to freight cost but it will certainly be cheaper if you are importing from Nigeria. It will have a huge impact on the Nigerian economy because we will be saving a lot of foreign exchange,” he noted.

 

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Bitcoin Hits $50,000 For First Time Since 2021

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A picture taken on February 6, 2018 shows a visual representation of the digital crypto-currency Bitcoin, at the “Bitcoin Change” shop in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Bitcoin surpassed the $50,000 mark on Tuesday, marking its highest value in over two years.

Investor optimism surged as anticipation grew regarding broader trading approval in the US, with hopes riding high on potential green lights for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Despite an initial dip following Washington’s approval signal last month, Bitcoin has rebounded impressively, boasting a 25 percent rally since January 22.

As of the latest data from Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency peaked at $50,328, underscoring the resilience and upward momentum in the crypto market, leaving observers optimistic about its future trajectory.

“Enthusiast buyers bring in more enthusiast buyers pushing prices further up,” Fadi Aboualfa, of Copper Technologies, said.

“The cryptocurrency has momentum on the back of several green weeks and has a large chance of going up further when markets see weekly movements upwards of 10 percent (as we saw last week).”

By 0330 GMT Tuesday, bitcoin had dropped slightly, to $49,950.

While Bitcoin has made an impressive recovery, currently standing above $50,000, it still lags significantly behind its peak value of nearly $69,000 in 2020. This rally signals a bounce-back for the cryptocurrency, which faced turbulent times marked by high-profile scandals and collapses within the crypto industry.

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Last year, FTX, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, suffered a dramatic downfall, with its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, now confronting potential consequences. Prosecutors have characterised the situation as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” and Bankman-Fried faces the looming threat of up to 110 years in prison.

In November, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, following both his and the company’s admission of guilt in extensive money laundering violations.

Bitcoin’s upward trajectory is further fueled by optimism surrounding potential interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year, as inflation appears to be easing. The cryptocurrency’s value is also influenced by an anticipated supply crunch next year, attributed to the recurring event known as “halving.”

Bitcoin, earned through intricate problem-solving by powerful computers in a process called “mining,” experiences a reduction in reward every four years. With the next “halving” scheduled for April, the limited supply dynamic continues to be a driving force behind Bitcoin’s value surge.

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Microsoft Joins Apple In $3 Trillion Club

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Microsoft joined Apple on Wednesday as a three trillion dollar company, as its big bet on artificial intelligence continued to impress Wall Street.

Now second to Apple as the world’s biggest company by market capitalization, Microsoft’s shares were up 1.31 percent at $404.

 

Apple remains narrowly in first place at $3.02 trillion after reaching the $3 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time in January 2022.

 

But it has fallen below the milestone, even briefly losing the pole position as biggest company on the markets when Microsoft briefly overtook the iPhone maker earlier this month.

 

Microsoft more than any other tech giant is riding the wave of excitement over AI.

The Redmond, Washington-based group has a major partnership with OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, that is reportedly worth $13 billion.

Since the arrival of ChatGPT, Microsoft has launched several products enabling companies and individuals to use the capabilities of generative AI, notably via its Bing search engine and Copilot virtual assistant.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in early November 2022, Microsoft shares have gained some 67 percent, with Apple’s up by about 40 percent.

Microsoft publishes its results on January 30.

 

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Nigeria: Shell Announces Sale of Onshore Oil Assets

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In an aerial view, gas prices nearing $6.00 a gallon are displayed at a Shell gas station on February 23, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

Shell has announced a deal to offload its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), to Renaissance.

The acquiring entity, Renaissance, stands as a consortium comprising four local exploration and production companies in Nigeria, alongside an international energy group.

Shell,  in a Tuesday statement on its website, said, “Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals by the Federal Government of Nigeria and other conditions.

“Transaction will preserve SPDC’s operating capabilities for the benefit of a joint venture. The transaction has been designed to preserve the full range of SPDC’s operating capabilities following the change of ownership. This includes the technical expertise, management systems, and processes that SPDC implements on behalf of all the companies in the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC JV)”.

But, it said, “SPDC’s staff will continue to be employed by the company as it transitions to new ownership”.

Shell emphasised  that amidst the competitive landscape, the company remains committed to supporting the management of SPDC JV facilities. These facilities play a crucial role in supplying a significant portion of feed gas to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), highlighting Shell’s dedication to assisting the nation in maximizing value from its NLNG endeavors.

“This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions,” Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director Zoë Yujnovich said.

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“It is a significant moment for SPDC, whose people have built it into a high-quality business over many years. Now, after decades as a pioneer in Nigeria’s energy sector, SPDC will move to its next chapter under the ownership of an experienced, ambitious Nigerian-led consortium.

“Shell sees a bright future in Nigeria with a positive investment outlook for its energy sector. We will continue to support the country’s growing energy needs and export ambitions in areas aligned with our strategy.”

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