Nigeria's Dangote Refinery is back to normal operations following a fire at its effluent treatment plant, Dangote Group wrote on X on Wednesday.
“We have swiftly contained a minor fire incident at our effluent treatment plant […]. There is no cause for alarm as the refinery is in operation and there is no recorded injury or body harm to any of our staff on duty,” the statement read.
On Wednesday, footage of heavy plumes of smoke rising from the 650,000 barrel-per-day plant went viral on social media.
The cause of the fire was not explained, though.
Last Sunday, Devakumar Edwin, vice president for oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, stated that the use of local oil crude supplies instead of imported US crude oil could greatly enhance the operational efficiency of Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery.
Moreover, Edwin criticized international oil companies operating in Nigeria for obstructing the refinery's efforts to secure local crude. He claimed that these global firms inflate the purchase price, forcing Dangote to import crude from the US to save on costs. This strategy, he said, is designed to keep Nigeria dependent on foreign petroleum products, ultimately benefiting the host countries over Nigeria.