Jubilation as Dangote Refinery Finally Begins Production

Dangote Groups of Company has kickstarted operations to produce crude oil in Nigeria.

The Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Akin Omole, told reporters at the Dangote Quay in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, that the refinery requires a sufficient supply of crude to operate smoothly.

“Once the six 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,” he added.

The refinery was officially inaugurated by then-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Although the refinery was scheduled to start operating in June 2023, it received its first crude deliveries in late 2020, which was a crucial step towards starting the delayed megaproject.

But When fully operational, experts say the 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote refinery, touted as Africa’s largest of its kind, may revolutionise Nigeria’s economy by reducing the nation’s dependency on fuel imports.

Before producing petrol, the first run will be for the manufacture of diesel and aviation fuel.

Recall, Dockaysworld reported that, the EFCC raided Dangote’s head office in Lagos over foreign exchange allocated by the Central Bank led by Godwin Emefiele from 2014 onwards.

In reaction, Dangote Group’s Chairman said he is willing to assist the anti-corruption agency in its inquiries.

Nigeria, the top economy on the continent and one of the biggest oil producers in Africa is nearly entirely dependent on diesel and fuel imports due to a lack of refining infrastructure.

Nigeria was experiencing declining oil income and shortages of foreign currency at the time, and fuel imports and subsidies were a major source of foreign exchange problems.

Last Monday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited shipped one million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil, the refinery’s fifth export.

In May 2023, the 650,000 barrels per day oil processing complex came online.

“Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100 per cent of  Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also have a surplus of each of these products for export,” the company said in a statement.

Many Nigerians have expressed their reactions on various social media platforms.