Despite having the potential to load 83% of its products by road, Dangote Refinery has declared plans to transfer 75% of its local petroleum product supply via marine channels, focussing on important sites like Warri, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
In an interview with Arise News, Dangote Industries Limited Vice President of Oil and Gas Devakumar Edwin disclosed this as the refinery started delivering Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on Sunday.
He pointed out that the move to maritime transport is intended to lower the greater expenses related to road distribution.
Edwin said that Dangote Refinery, the biggest single-train refinery in the world, provides land and sea export possibilities, but it is stepping up attempts to evacuate almost all of its production via sea.
Products would mostly be transported by sea to Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri, Apapa, and Atlas; road transport will only be used in an emergency, relieving pressure on the nation’s transport system and reducing transhipment expenses.
“We have both exporting facilities by sea and by road. 75% of the production can be evacuated through sea. In fact, now we are ramping up to make it even 100%.”
“Anything going to Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri, Apapa, Atlas can all be taken through the sea. So only what is imminently required by road can be taken.”
“But I also have the facility to load 83% of my production also through road. We have just built-in flexibility but we can avoid all traffic congestion on the road by evacuating through sea and it will also bring down the cost of transhipment,” Edwin stated.
Edwin said that the majority of goods can be transported from Port Harcourt and Warri to central Nigeria, while Calabar can handle goods going to the east and northeast. He pointed out that this switch to maritime transportation will drastically save expenses and eventually result in lower rates for customers.
What To Note
With the ability to handle up to 2,900 trucks per day and load 40 tankers of PMS concurrently in 40 minutes, the Dangote Refinery presents a serious risk of traffic congestion along the Lekki-Epe corridor, which could force a change to maritime transportation.
Owing to the refinery’s and other businesses’ influx of tankers into the Lagos Free Trade Zone, the Lagos State Government has taken a number of steps to reduce the possibility of traffic problems.
As the refinery starts distributing petrol, one important endeavour is to provide the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) with cutting-edge tow trucks, emergency equipment and medical services. Another is to strategically place staff along the Lekki-Ajah corridor.
Furthermore, following the postponement of the August launch date, the Lagos State Government has declared that the electronic call-up (e-call-up) system will be enabled on the Lekki-Epe corridor starting on September 23, 2024.
The Lekki-Epe area is heavily industrialised, and the e-call-up system is intended to address the ongoing congestion brought on by the flood of articulated vehicles.
