AMADI CHIGOZIE

Preparations are in top gear for the commencement of production in Dangote Refinery, as the petrochemical company has received the fourth crude shipment of, one million barrels of bonny light crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), and expecting the fifth crude shipment, anytime from now.

The fresh one million barrels of crude was the fourth consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude being expected by the world’s largest single-train refinery.

It would be recalled that Dangote Refinery had earlier, received three million barrels of crude.

Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Mr. Akin Omole, had then told newsmen at the Dangote Quay, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos that the Refinery will receive about four million crude shpment before the end of 2023 and the remaining two by the early of January 2024. He said the crudes supply would put the Refinery in good stead to commence operation.

Once the 6 million barrels are fully delivered, it will facilitate the initial run of the refinery as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

This latest development will play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria as well as the West African countries.

Designed for 100% Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery can process most African crude grades as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US Light tight oil as well as crude from other countries.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also has a surplus of each of these products for export.

The refinery was built to take crude through its two SPMs located 25 kilometres from the shore and to discharge petroleum products through three separate SPMs. In addition, the refinery can load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries.

Dangote Refinery has a self-sufficient marine facility with the ability to handle the largest vessel globally available. In addition, all products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.

The refinery is designed to comply with US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms as well as African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.

While receiving the first consignment, President of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote stated: “We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone. This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects. Our focus over the coming months is to ramp up the refinery to its full capacity. I look forward to the next significant milestone when we deliver the first batch of products to the Nigerian market.”