The Dangote group, a food and cement giant, has reportedly declared that its refinery industry will begin production of 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel in October of this year.
In an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights on Tuesday, Devakumar Edwin, executive director of Dangote Group, also revealed that the Dangote refinery will receive its first cargo of crude oil in the next two weeks.
According to him, the refinery will begin operations in stages, starting with 350,000 to 370,000 bpd of diesel and jet fuel by October, when the crude distillation unit, sulphur block, and hydrogen plant will be operational.
He stated that the refinery would begin its gradual ramp-up to 650,000 bpd, or almost half of its petrol, on 30 November. “Right now, I’m ready to receive crude,” said Edwin “We are just waiting for the first vessel. And so as soon as it comes in, we can start.”
According to the interview, Mr Edwin explained that the NNPCL had stated that they had committed their crude on a forward basis to someone else, explaining why they didn’t have the crude right away.
He said that by November 2023, the refinery should only be using crude from Nigeria, and that this is only a short-term problem.
He added that because the oil is located in a free zone outside of Lagos, it will be bought in US dollars rather than Nigerian naira.
“We can take even some of the Russian grades… if the global system opens up to allow us to receive them. Basically, if you look at our production profile, 50% of my production will meet 100% of the requirements of the country.
“Excess gasoline – which will be 10 ppm sulfur Euro 5 quality — will be exported to other African markets as well as the US and South America, although the volumes will be relatively small. “Meanwhile, jet fuel will be exported to Europe and diesel will be sold in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Dangote oil refinery was officially opened by President Muhammadu Buhari. This prestigious undertaking is anticipated to spark a change in Nigeria’s energy industry.
Preceding his handover to his successor, President Tinubu, in Lagos, Nigeria, where business leaders, industry leaders, and presidents of other African nations gathered, Buhari inaugurated the $19 billion facility that is expected to revolutionise crude oil refining in the continent.
