With the receipt of another one million barrels of crude oil from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), the Dangote Refinery has further raised hope of moving towards the commencement of production of refined petroleum products
The fresh one million barrels of crude from the Shell terminal via the MT Otis owned by Trafigural is the second consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude being expected by the world’s largest single-train refinery.
It means there are still four million barrels to go. However, if there is consistency in the volume of crude currently being supplied to Dangote Refinery every week, it means the giant refinery will most likely start production by about the end of January 2024.
About a week before the last consignment, Dangote Refinery received one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria as well as globally, trading over 8 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Once the 6 million barrels are fully delivered, it will facilitate the initial run of the refinery as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
This latest development will play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria as well as the West African countries.
The expected respite will not come the way of Nigerians immediately. This is because the plant will start refining Automotive Oil otherwise known as Diesel, Aviation fuel, and other products that are already deregulated before it commences production of petrol.
So as the company could not get the required six million barrels at once, it means a further delay in processing petrol. The petrol from Dangote Refinery may not significantly change the price of petrol in Nigeria, but at least there would be respite that there will be a constant source of supply.
Designed for 100% Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery can process most African crude grades as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US Light tight oil as well as crude from other countries.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also has a surplus of each of these products for export.
Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Mr. Akin Omole told newsmen at the Dangote Quay, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos that the Refinery is expecting more crudes before the end of this year to put the Refinery in good stead to commence operation.
The one million barrels represent the second phase of the 6 million barrels of crude oil to be supplied to Dangote Petroleum Refinery by a range of suppliers for the production of petroleum products.
The refinery was built to take crude through its two SPMs located 25 kilometres from the shore and to discharge petroleum products through three separate SPMs. In addition, the refinery has the capacity to load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries.
Dangote Refinery has a self-sufficient marine facility with the ability to handle the largest vessel globally available. In addition, all products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.
The refinery is designed to 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.
While receiving the first consignment, President of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote had stated: “We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone. 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.”
Also the Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor had said: “We welcome the startup of a refinery that is designed to produce gasoline, diesel, and low-sulphur fuels for Nigeria and across West Africa and are happy to be enabling it.”