- Fire broke out at the Effluent Treatment Plant section of Dangote refinery
- A statement by the company’s spokesperson said it was a minor fire which was contained
- Nigerians express worry over the incident and speculate over the underlying cause
A fire broke out at a section of the Dangote Refinery in the afternoon on Wednesday, June 26. In a video circulating on social media, thick smoke was seen emanating from the refinery.
TheRadar gathered that the incident occurred at the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), a facility designed to purify industrial wastewater for reuse, ensuring safe water release to the environment.
Spokesperson for Dangote Industries Limited, Anthony Chiejina confirmed in a press release that the fire was a minor incident that had been swiftly contained.
He said:
“We have swiftly contained a minor fire incident at our effluent treatment plant (ETP), today Wednesday 26th of June. There is no cause for alarm as the refinery is operating and there is no recorded injury or bodily harm to any of our staff on duty.”
This is coming after Dangote accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria of obstructing the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude oil by inflating the prices above market rates, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude oil from distant countries which would lead to higher costs.
The Dangote refinery, which began producing diesel and aviation fuel on January 12, 2024, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). It was inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.
Some Nigerians have reacted to the incident on social media. Controversial influencer Daniel Regha shared his thoughts on the fire outbreak.
@DanielRegha posted: “Dangote’s refinery is catching fire a few days after he complained that some persons are trying to stop the refinery? What a coincidence (indeed). It is disturbing how this refinery is yet to function efficiently or yield any positive results, but already has a lot of issues. Only in Nigeria”
@GeneralSnow_ posted: “So therefore, production date will now be postponed. All these scripts.”
@bellick01 posted: “Christ Embassy was on fire. Now it’s Dangote refinery, don’t you think something is fishy? Or make i mind my business.”
@senatortomi posted: “Dangote said the mafias in oil pass that of drugs, no be joke.”
@Ugochukwu_96 posted: “This is really sad. I just hope it is not the Nigerian factor at play here. A lot of funny things happen in this country.”
@Ballinggent posted: “What kind of sabotage is this? They should allow this man’s refinery work for Nigerians. This man has been lamenting on how IOC’s are depriving the company from buying crude from marketers in Nigeria and hence they started buying crude oil from US.”