Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery, the largest in Africa, is projected to commence operations at full capacity within 30 days, as stated by the refinery’s director on Monday.
Constructed by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos, the refinery has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and began converting crude oil into various products, including diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel, in January of the previous year, with petrol processing commencing in September.
The facility aims to rival European refiners once it reaches full operational capacity; however, it has faced challenges in securing adequate local crude supplies.
Edwin Devakumar, the head of the Dangote Oil Refinery, indicated that the refinery is currently functioning at 85% capacity, asserting, “we can achieve 100 percent in 30 days.”
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Last year, the refinery resorted to importing crude oil due to difficulties in obtaining sufficient local volumes, despite an agreement with the Nigerian government to purchase crude in the local naira currency.
For the period of January to June this year, it has requested 550,000 barrels per day of crude from Nigerian oil producers, as reported by the oil regulator, which has also announced that it will deny export permits for oil shipments from producers who do not fulfill their designated supply quotas to local refineries.
The Dangote Oil Refinery is actively seeking new markets for its refined products. Founder Aliko Dangote informed a group of Nigerian professionals during a recent visit that the refinery is dispatching two cargoes of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco as part of its expansion strategy.
