Dangote Refinery advances toward production as crude supply reaches 6 million barrels

Business a.m

Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has made significant progress in its journey towards becoming operational, with the receipt of the sixth batch of crude oil from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). 

The latest delivery of Agbami crude is the sixth out of six million barrels that have been scheduled to be delivered to the Dangote facility, and marks a key milestone in the refinery’s journey towards starting operations. The $20 billion facility is designed to process a range of crude grades, including Agbami, which is one of the main crude grades produced in Nigeria.

In a statement released on Monday, the Dangote Group announced the delivery of the last batch of crude oil supply to the Lekki Free Trade Zone refinery. This delivery has brought the total crude oil stock held at the refinery to six million barrels, and means that the facility is now effectively ready to commence production of white petroleum products. With an expected output of 650,000 barrels per day, the refinery is expected to significantly boost Nigeria’s domestic supply of refined petroleum products, and is poised to make a major contribution to the economy.

One month ago, Dangote Refinery received its first delivery of Agbami crude oil from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), a major player in the oil trading market. Since then, the refinery has been receiving one million barrels of crude oil in batches, with the latest batch being the sixth and final one. This delivery is currently being discharged at the Dangote Offshore Oil Terminal (DOOT), located at the Single Point Mooring (SPM-C2) site.

In an earlier statement,Akin Omole, the managing director of Dangote Ports Operations, had told the media that the refinery would be ready to commence operations once the six million barrels of crude oil had been delivered. 

““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 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),” he assured.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery was designed to process 100% Nigerian crude oil, but it has the flexibility to process other crudes as well. This gives the refinery a competitive advantage, as it can process most crude grades from across Africa, including light and heavy crudes. In addition, the refinery can also process Middle Eastern Arab Light crude and even US Light tight oil. This flexibility allows the refinery to source crude oil from a wide range of countries, which will ensure a reliable and secure supply of crude oil for the refinery’s operations.

Being the largest petroleum refinery in Africa, Dangote Petroleum refinery is considered having the capacity to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet fuel. Furthermore, the refinery’s truck-loading gantries are built to load 2,900 trucks per day, which will help to meet the country’s domestic demand for petroleum products.