he National President of Nigeria Society of Chemical Engineers (NSCh) says Dangote Oil Refining Company will be the highest employer of chemical engineers in the country when the refinery comes on stream.
The Society’s National President, Engr. Saidu A. Muhammed, disclosed this during the NSCh’s visit to Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical project at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos over the weekend.
He commended the company for its contribution to energy security in Nigeria.
Muhammed, said the industries in Nigeria have not been able to absorb the over 1,000 engineers yearly from Nigerian Universities.
“We, the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, have keenly been watching the progress of the refinery project.
“When completed, the refinery will be the singular largest employer of chemical engineers in the country.
“Some companies within the sector are not running at the optimum level. Therefore, employment is really key.
“However, from the energy security point of view, chemical engineers are always concerned about what can be put in place to guarantee energy security in the country.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant crude oil, but unfortunately, we are importing petroleum products simply because Nigeria’s own refineries are not utilizing their installed capacity”, he said.
‘When you see a brand new refinery like the Dangote Refinery that has the capacity to meet the petroleum products needs of the country, there is need to celebrate such company”, Muhammed added.
He expressed delight over the size of the project and the level of work that has gone into the construction of the refinery.
He commended the Dangote Group for its plans to ensure that Nigerian engineers are trained to handle the operation of the refinery plant, which has been acclaimed to be the largest single-train refinery in the world.
“We are most impressed by the numbers of Nigerians that we see within the site working at various sections of the plant.
‘We are glad that Dangote is building this type of project in Nigeria, which is one of the largest in the world,” he said.
Muhammed added that the members of the association are happy to see that Dangote Refinery will contribute significantly to energy security in Africa.
“We are also happy about the refinery’s contribution to energy security in Africa. The refinery is also going to have a positive impact on Nigeria’s downstream oil and gas industry.”
