$20bn Dangote Refinery commences production
The $20 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company on Friday, commenced production
The Informant247 gathered that the refinery began operation after it received the fifth crude oil shipment of one million barrels of Bonny Light supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited last week.
The 650,000 barrels per day oil processing facility started operations in May 2023; where it is designed to process crude oil grades from the three continents of Africa, Asia and America.
Recap of the past events
The immediate past Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari had, on Monday, 22nd May 2023, inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The former President, while speaking at the occasion, which was attended by Heads of State from Ghana, Togo, Niger, Senegal and a representative of the President of Chad, described the feat as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s economy and a game changer for the downstream petroleum products market in the entire African region.
He said, ‘‘This mega industry we are commissioning today is a clear example of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs are encouraged and supported and when an enabling environment is created for investments and for businesses to thrive.
The Informant247, however, reported on December 8 that the first crude feedstock for Dangote’s 650,000 b/d refinery had arrived in the country, indicating that fuel production at the new $19 billion facility is finally set to start after years of delays, according to SP Global quoting market sources and tanker tracking data.
According to the report, the OTIS tanker loaded a 950,000-barrel cargo of Agbami crude on Dec. 6 and was discharged at the refinery’s terminal on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Group, had said the plant would start production with 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.
In the statement, the firm said the inaugural one million barrels, representing the first phase of the six million barrels to be supplied to the refinery by a range of suppliers, should sustain the initial 350,000 bpd to be processed by the facility, adding that it will receive the subsequent four cargoes — to be supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited — in two or three weeks.
