In a significant stride toward enhancing Nigeria’s energy refining capacity and security, the Dangote Refinery has welcomed its latest one-million-barrel crude oil cargo from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), bringing the total to three million barrels at the facility’s Single-Point Mooring.
When our team also learned that the fourth shipment of crude is en route.
The company, gearing up for a 350,000 bpd operational capacity, is set to initiate the production of diesel and aviation fuel by mid-January 2024, with Premium Motor Spirit production following suit.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery boasts the capability to fulfill 100% of Nigeria’s refined product requirements, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet. Additionally, there is a surplus of each product for export.
Earlier this month, the $20 billion refinery received its initial 950,000-barrel cargo of crude from Nigeria’s Agbami crude, docking at Dangote’s offshore crude receiving terminal in Lekki at around 7 pm on December 7. This marked the commencement of crude supplies for the refinery’s operations.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), holding a 20% stake in the refinery, recently entered into an agreement to supply 6 million barrels of crude oil as feedstock to jumpstart Dangote refinery’s operations.
Aliko Dangote, the owner, had previously asserted that the refinery would reach its full refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of 2024.
In an interview in November, Dangote emphasized that the refinery’s first priority is to supply petrol to Nigeria before considering exports to other regions, including West Africa.
“We don’t want to start our refinery with foreign goods, we want to start with Nigerian crude. We’re more than ready, and you will see our gasoline products soon.”
Situated on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, the refinery faced delays since its announcement in 2013, despite substantial installation progress in 2019. In September 2023, the refinery announced plans to start producing diesel and kerosene in October 2023, followed by gasoline a month later.
Although the refinery faced delays due to a stall in crude oil supply in October, a new start date of December 2023 was announced, with expectations of receiving 6 million barrels of crude oil in December.
