CEM REPORT, ENERGY | Dangote Refinery, the largest oil refinery project in Africa, is getting ready to start refining crude oil and producing fuel in 2024. The refinery, located in Lagos, Nigeria, received its fifth crude oil shipment of one million barrels of Bonny Light grade on Thursday, bringing it closer to completion.
The fifth crude oil shipment, supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), arrived at the Dangote Offshore Oil Terminal and was transferred to the refinery’s crude oil tanks. The refinery is also expecting the sixth and final one million crude oil cargo by Monday next week, barring any unforeseen delay.
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The six million barrels of crude oil will enable the refinery to begin its initial run and produce diesel, aviation fuel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before moving on to the production of petrol. The refinery will help Nigeria achieve self-sufficiency in fuel and save foreign exchange spent on importing refined products from abroad.
The refinery will also play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria and other West African countries. According to the promoters, the Dangote Refinery has the capacity to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for all fuel products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.
The Dangote Refinery is designed to process 100 per cent Nigerian crude oil with the flexibility to process other crudes from Africa, the Middle East, and the US. It has a self-sufficient marine facility with the ability to handle the largest vessel globally available. It also has a 435MW power plant that can meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo. All products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications and comply with US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms as well as African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.
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President of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, expressed his delight at the milestone and said: “This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects. Our focus over the coming months is to ramp up the refinery to its full capacity. I look forward to the next significant milestone when we deliver the first batch of products to the Nigerian market.”
The Dangote Refinery is a $19 billion project that will create a market for $21 billion per annum of Nigerian crude oil. It is expected to be the world’s biggest single-train facility and create thousands of jobs for Nigerians.
