$20bn Dangote Refinery Gets 4m Barrels Crude Oil Of 6m Barrels From NNPCL To Kick-start Production

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has scheduled to supply four crude oil cargoes, (four million barrels), under its February programme to the $20 billion Dangote refinery.

The four cargoes are expected to increase the total supply to about one billion barrels of crude as six million barrels have already been delivered to the plant.

The plant received sufficient fuel to conduct a test run, according to Reuters.

It stated: “OPEC member Nigeria currently relies on imports for most of the fuel it consumes, but the Dangote refinery is expected to make it self-sufficient and able to export fuel to neighbours in West Africa, potentially transforming oil trading in the Atlantic Basin.

“Dangote received 1 million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude on Monday, lifting total volumes received since December to 6 million barrels.

“NNPC supplied the 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant with four of the cargoes, two of the sources said.”

Dangote’s group executive director for strategy, portfolio development and capital projects, Edwin Devakumar, said the company did not request cargoes from NNPC for January.

“We are starting the refinery and if we continue to line up cargoes our inventory will build up as well as costs,” he said. “If everything goes well, we will run 8-10 days of operation then we will begin to line up cargoes.”

The refinery is preparing to receive cargoes of crude oil. The company is considering crude oil supplies from other countries, but no details have been disclosed yet.

According to one source, the refinery has nominated four cargoes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for February. However, another source reported that NNPC is waiting for the plant’s test runs to be completed before sending more oil. The initial processing capacity of the refinery is expected to be 350,000 barrels per day, with plans to ramp up to full capacity in the future.

The Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Akin Omole had said: “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 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).”

According to the company, “Dangote Oil Refinery is 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.”