The Dangote Oil Refinery is finally set to commence fuel production as the first crude shipment arrived at the facility Thursday, December 7, 2023.
This was confirmed in a report by S&P Global, which stated that the OTIS tanker, carrying 950,000 barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude, set sail on December 6.
S&P Global added that the tanker is currently en route to Lekki, Lagos State, which is the nearest land port to Dangote’s offshore crude receiving terminal.
It pointed out that the arrival of the first crude shipment at the mammoth $19 billion Dangote refinery marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s oil industry.
“The tanker is expected to arrive on December 7 around 8 p.m.; this shipment marks the initiation of crude supplies for the refinery’s operations,” the report reads.
According to a West African oil trader familiar with the matter, as quoted by S&P Global, the Suezmax tanker, chartered by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), symbolises the initial crude supply to Dangote’s state-of-the-art refinery even as the magnificent edifice is set to begin fuel production.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, in August 2021, acquired a 20 percent minority equity stake in the Dangote Refinery.
The 650,000 bpd capacity refinery was inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.
Shortly before the inauguration of the refinery, the NNPC, which owns a 20 percent stake in the refinery, announced that it would supply 300,000 barrels of crude oil to the facility.
But in September, Devakumar Edwin, executive director of Dangote Group, said the national oil company would not be able to supply the refinery until November.
However, in a turn of events, the NNPC is expected to allocate six million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery in December 2023.
Aliko Dangote had said the refinery has secured a license to refine more than 300,000 barrels of Nigerian crude per day and will begin to process petrol “soon”.
