African billionaire, Aliko Dangote, has announced that his refinery has obtained a license to process over 300,000 barrels of Nigerian crude daily and will commence gasoline production soon.
“We don’t want to start our refinery with foreign goods, we want to start with the Nigerian crude,” the billionaire said in an interview in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Saudi-Nigeria business roundtable. “We’re more than ready and you will see our gasoline products soon.”
The long-awaited Dangote refinery heralded as a game-changer for Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, was supposed to commence production in August but missed that target, along with several other delays over the years.
Despite the delays, Dangote insists that his refinery will indeed commence production “very very soon.” The refinery’s primary focus is to supply gasoline to Nigeria initially before considering exports to other destinations, including the West African region, according to Dangote.
At its full planned capacity of 650,000 b/d, the refinery would make Nigeria self-sufficient in fuels and leave plenty more for export.
The refinery, expected to generate 27 million litres of diesel, 11 million litres of kerosene, and 9 million litres of jet fuel, will source crude from various producers in Nigeria, including the country’s state oil company, said Dangote who holds the 9th position on the list of the top 10 richest manufacturing billionaires in the world.
In October 2023, Nigeria’s crude oil production reached 1.56 million barrels per day, as reported by data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
However, OPEC reports a slightly lower figure at 1.49 million barrels per day. Regardless, this signifies the highest crude oil production for Nigeria in nearly two years.
The country recently introduced a new grade of crude named Nembe through a joint venture, signalling an increase in its oil output.
The first cargoes of Nembe were sold in October, with two 950,000 barrel shipments sold to France and the Netherlands.
The Nembe crude stream is expected to be handled by a joint venture involving the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the oil firm Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd.
Crude theft and pipeline attacks in the Niger Delta have severely impacted the OPEC member’s capacity to fulfil its quota. Consequently, the Nigerian government has been facing challenges in meeting its revenue targets.
