How Billionaire Sayyu Dantata’s $450 Million Bestaf Lubricant Plant Will Impact Nigeria’s Economy

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is home to some of the richest men on the continent. From Femi Otedola to Aliko Dangote, billionaire Mike Adenuga, and even Tony Elumelu. But this is just a little scratch on the surface. Others like Sayyu Dantata however are the new kids on the block.

Unknown to many, there are other several relatively unknown billionaires who make power moves behind the curtain and are controlling enormous wealth through several businesses. One of such men is Sayyu Idris Dantata. Now you might be familiar with the Dantata family name, but the question is: do you know who Sayyu Dantata is?

Read on to find out all about this young billionaire and his newly launched Bestaf Lubricant Plant, which was recently declared open by President Muhammadu Buahri.

Who is Sayyu Idris Dantata?

Sayyu Dantata is the billionaire cousin of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the Dangote Group. Dantata is the founder and chairman of MRS Holdings Company Limited, one of Nigeria’s largest marketers of refined petroleum products like gasoline, marine fuels, and aviation fuels. The brand has more than 400 retail service stations across the country, and operations span several West African countries, including the Benin Republic, Togo, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire.

An engineer by profession, he started his career as the transport director with his uncle’s company and rose through the organization. Thereafter, he moved on to start his own business and now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the MRS Group.

Sayyu Dantata’s $450 million Bestaf lubricant plant

The billionaire recently launched Bestaf Lubricant Plant, a subsidiary of MRS Group. It is a 200 million-liter lubricant processing plant that is acclaimed as the first of its kind in West Africa and covers the entire value chain of lubricants.

The lubricant plant comes with a capacity to produce as many as 1,700 different products in the petroleum chain.

The lubricant plant, which is located at Tincan Island in Apapa, Lagos, is set to contribute immensely to Nigeria’s economy and will boost employment, generate revenue, and reduce the country’s import dependence.

According to Dantata, the plant will not only generate foreign exchange for the country through product exports but also meet the needs of neighbouring countries.

Details available show that the plant has the capacity to produce about 50 percent of Nigeria’s lubricant consumption, which today stands at about 364 million liters. Of this, the facility is expected to deliver about 200 million litres of lubricant per year. With this capacity, the company is thus set to give well-known brands such as Total Nigeria Plc, Ammasco International Limited, 11 Plc, Oando Plc, Tonimas Nigeria Ltd, Forte Oil Plc, and Conoil Plc a run for their money.

Nigeria’s daily consumption of lubricants

Lubricants: engine oil, industrial oil, transmission oil, marine oil, grease, and specialty lubricants are highly demanded, especially in the automotive and industrial sectors, with the influx of used and new personal and commercial vehicles increasing by the day. Nigeria currently consumes about 250 million litres of engine oil per year, and this consumption grows by more than five percent every year due to the addition of new vehicles and machinery.

It is interesting to note that aside from lubricants, the plant also has other production sections for the production of items such as printed labels, PET and HDPE bottles, aerosol and homecare products.

No doubt the addition of Bestaf Lubricant Plant to the pool of already existing plants and brands is a big boost to the nation’s economy, and the man behind it all, Sayyu Danatata, certainly has his eyes set on the mega bucks.

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