Nigeria’s much-anticipated Dangote oil refinery commenced supplying petroleum products to the local market on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s pursuit of energy self-sufficiency.
This refinery, constructed by Africa’s wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote, at a cost of $20 billion, stands as the largest on the continent.
Located on a peninsula near Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria, the refinery boasts a refining capacity of up to 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). Once fully operational, expected either this year or the next, it will rank as the largest in both Africa and Europe.
Devakumar Edwin, an executive of the Dangote group, confirmed to Reuters of the commencement of shipping diesel and jet fuel into the local market.
Vessels are actively loading substantial quantities of these products, with ships accommodating up to 37 million litres for seamless operations.
“We have substantial quantities. Products are being evacuated both by sea and road. Ships are lining up one after another to load diesel and aviation jet fuel,” he said.
Local oil marketers, in collaboration with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, agreed upon a price of 1,225 naira ($0.96) per litre of diesel under a bulk purchase agreement, as confirmed by Abubakar Maigandi, head of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria.
This agreement is poised to benefit Nigeria’s extensive network of retail stations, overseen by the association’s members, totaling around 150,000 outlets across the nation.
Furthermore, the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria revealed that its members are in discussions with financial institutions to secure letters of credit for purchasing petroleum products directly from the Dangote refinery.
