As the current volatility in the global oil market continued to disrupt merchandize trade and elicit concerns among economists based on the implications for inflation rate in most economies, the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited hinted on Monday its plans to raise its refined crude volume to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, David Bird, who gave the hint during an interview with journalists in Lagos, said the move was part of the company’s commitment to meeting domestic fuel demand amid global market volatility.
The industry expert said that the refinery was producing 650,000 barrels per day now but that plans were in top gear to raise the output.
The CEO clarified: “We are running at 650,000 barrels a day. In fact, we did a performance test run at 661,000 barrels a day. To get to 700,000, we first have to assure our insurance and market stakeholders.
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“However, we see that we will be able to move to 700,000. And we will have very deliberate management. We are confident we can keep that up to 700,000.
“But right now, for the purposes of full transparency, we are operating at the nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels a day”, he added.
Industry sources say discussions have been opened between the managements of the company and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to facilitate improved crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery amid global oil market volatility and the surging prices of petroleum products in the domestic market over the past three days.
Available industry data indicated that Dangote Refinery needed around 13–14 cargoes of crude per month to operate at full capacity but the state-controlled petroleum company had been supplying about five cargoes a month to it monthly.
As of Monday, the US-Israeli attacks on Iran had raised Brent Crude prices around $115 a barrel and compelled local refiners to adjust their oil prices in order not to operate at loss.
