Dangote Refinery has expressed its readiness to start refining operation following the delivery of the sixth batch of barrels of crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The one million barrels of crude oil delivered by MT ALMI SUN at the Single Point Mooring (SPM-C2) at the Dangote Offshore Oil Terminal (DOOT) is expectedly the last cargo to complete the initially scheduled 6 million barrels consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility for commencement of operations by the world’s largest single-train refinery.
Earlier, the refinery had received the first one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO) and subsequently got delivery of crude oil in batches.
Speaking on the refining timeline set by the company’s management earlier, Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Mr. Akin Omole, said that the refinery would be ready to commence operations once the 6 million barrels of crude had been delivered.
He 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).”
Analysts believe that the delivery of the crude oil to the plan will help in reducing the fuel supply challenges being faced by Nigeria and other the West African countries.
Designed for 100% Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process crude oil from other countries, 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.
When fully operational, the refinery has the capacity to meet 100% of Nigeria’s refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet demand and also export refined products to other global markets, especially in Africa.
