Business mogul Aliko Dangote has warned that no new major refineries may be built in sub-Saharan Africa without strong political support.
He made the statement at the Global Commodity Insights Conference on West African Refined Fuel Markets, organized by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in partnership with S&P Global Insights.
Dangote attributed the problem to “entrenched rent-seeking within the petroleum value chain,” which he said has turned the sector into a hub of “corruption and rent-seeking.” He specifically pointed to a floating storage terminal off Lomé, Togo, calling it a “uniquely African phenomenon” where over 2 million tonnes of petroleum products are stored and sold at inflated prices due to a lack of local refining capacity.
“But immediately, the Dangote refinery became operational, and they started driving down prices,” he said. “Those who profit from this system will do everything they can to prevent other refineries from emerging.”
“Let me be blunt: if strong political will is not mustered, nobody in this room, myself included, will live to see another major refinery built in sub-Saharan Africa,” he concluded.