Dangote Oil Refinery in Nigeria is set to initiate test runs this week, having received its sixth crude cargo on January 9th, overcoming years of construction delays.
The arrival of the sixth crude cargo from the Agbami field in the Niger Delta brings the total crude stock received at the facility to six million barrels of oil, the required amount to bring the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) facility to life.
The refinery’s operation is expected to turn Africa’s largest oil producer into a net exporter of fuels, a long-sought goal for the OPEC member that almost totally relies on imports.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, but it imports refined petrol despite having refineries that have become dysfunctional. Oil explorers in the country export crude to foreign refiners and import it back to the country for sale to downstream players, eroding its foreign exchange reserves.
The next step is to start up the crude distillation unit, which is a major component of the refinery, a senior company executive who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said. According to him, this process would “most probably” commence this week.
“Subsequently, we will be continuously buying crude and starting to commission the other departments.”
“Saleable products will start coming in the first week itself. But, of course, the volume will be limited, and the variety of saleable products will also be limited, and it will start building up as each major department gets commissioned,” said the executive.
During test runs, experts say various units are assessed to ensure they effectively produce a range of products, from gasoline to diesel, while also making sure they respond to control panels.
Dangote earlier confirmed that the long-awaited refinery is starting with 350,000 barrels a day.
The refinery, expected to generate 27 million litres of diesel, 11 million litres of kerosene, and 9 million litres of jet fuel, will source crude from various producers in Nigeria, including the country’s state oil company.
Nigerian oil firms have been mandated to provide 483,000 bpd to the Dangote refinery and five other refineries in the first half of 2024. The 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote refinery will receive the biggest volume of 325,000 bpd.
Last month, Dangote declared his plans to publicly list the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
