Lagos, Nigeria
Keep the oil here: Nigeria inaugurated a massive, $20 billion refinery this week intended to help make the country self-sufficient in energy. A major oil producer and exporter, Nigeria has to import more than 95 percent of the gas and oil it uses at home because it lacks the capacity to refine its own crude. The new refinery will be able to process 650,000 barrels per day, aiming to produce up to 14 million gallons of gasoline, 1.1 million gallons of diesel, and a half-million gallons of jet fuel daily. The facility was built by Dangote Group, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and is expected to start operations next month. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, which was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and other African leaders, Dangote said the refinery would help eliminate “the tragedy of import dependency.”