Wealthy Countries Can’t Fault Africa for Producing More Oil
Energy-poor African states need a nuanced approach to climate change adaptation.
A Nigerian naval officer during a ceremony to mark the first delivery of crude oil to the Dangote Industries Ltd. refinery in Nigeria.
Source: Bloomberg
On Jan. 13, Nigeria inaugurated the $20 billion Dangote Oil Refinery, a 650,000 barrels-per-day facility that represents a new phase in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer that has for decades had to export crude petroleum and import refined petroleum products. The new refinery will end this practice, and in so doing save the country up to $12 billion in foreign reserves that were previously allocated for petroleum imports. Other benefits will include jobs through local value addition as well as the growth of related industries producing products like plastics, fertilizers and bitumen.
Nigeria celebrating a new oil refinery at a time of heightened concern about fossil fuels and global warming, however, might seem odd. Indeed, the high-income countries in the G-7 have imposed a moratorium on funding for “dirty” investments in Africa’s hydrocarbon sector. European firms have also faced activist lawsuits seeking to block their investments in African fossil fuel projects.