By Aliyu Dangida
On Monday, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery received its fourth shipment of one million barrels of bonny light crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The company announced this in a statement, noting that the fifth crude oil shipment is on its way.
The news comes after the plant’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity had previously received three shipments of crude oil, with company officials telling our correspondent that the refinery would begin pumping out refined Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel, and aviation fuel, or JetA1, in January 2024.
According to the company, production of petroleum products will begin as soon as it receives the entire six million barrels of crude.
“The fresh one million barrels of crude were the fourth consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude expected by the world’s largest single-train refinery,” the company said in a statement issued on Monday.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stated in his New Year’s address that Dangote will begin operations in 2024.
Akin Omole, Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, previously told journalists at the Dangote Quay in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, that the refinery would receive approximately four million crude oil shipments by the end of 2023.
He stated that the refinery would receive the remaining two by early January 2024, allowing it to begin production.
The Dangote refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, can meet 100% of Nigeria’s demand for all refined petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, and has a surplus of each of these products for export.
Dangote Refinery has a self-contained marine facility capable of handling the largest global vessel, from which it has received crude oil shipments.
“We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone,” Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote said after receiving the first consignment of crude.
This is an important achievement for our country, demonstrating 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.”