Dangote refinery is set to commence production after receiving one million barrels of crude oil from Agbami offshore oil field, off the Niger Delta. According to the Dangote group in a statement, this cargo is the first of 6 million barrels that would enable an initial run of the refinery.
The statement also mentioned that the next four cargoes will be supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in two to three weeks while the final six cargoes will be supplied by ExxonMobil.
Dangote refinery entered an agreement in November with NNPCL to supply the crude oil. NNPCL has a 20% stake in the refinery.
Launched in 2013, the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is set up to produce up to 53 million litres of gasoline per day, 4 million litres of diesel and 2 million litres of aviation jet fuel per day.
Described as “the world’s largest single train refinery, the refinery was commissioned by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.
It is not quite clear why production was delayed till December. Some reports put the blame on the fact that the refinery was not ready while some others reported that crude oil shortage was delaying the take-off of the refinery.
The supply of crude oil to the facility is being hailed as a major milestone by Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire and friend of Aliko Dangote. In his post on X today, he congratulated Aliko Dangote as “the 8th wonder of the world – the $20 Billion (Twenty Billion Dollars) @DangoteGroup refinery – officially commences production.”
“I had a front-row seat as this vision was conceptualized and took shape. And I am familiar with the sleepless nights you’ve had to work through over the last decade to bring this dream to fruition,” he added.
He also said that “this refinery is a beacon of hope for millions of Nigerians and Africans. It is also at the vanguard of championing environmental sustainability. With its Carbon capture technologies and storage processes it will capture up to 90%+ of the CO2 emitted and also play a significant role in reducing Well-to-tank carbon emissions from crude oil maritime transportation, thereby playing its own role in helping Nigeria meet its target for net-zero emissions by 2060.”
It is expected that oil refining should enable Nigeria to put an end to frequent fuel shortages.
