Dangote refinery set to begin commercial production

Nigerian conglomerate Dangote Industries Ltd. (Dangote Group) subsidiary Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Co. (DRPC)—formerly known as Dangote Oil Refining Co.—has now received all crude oil supplies necessary to begin commercial production of finished products at the recently commissioned 650,000-b/d integrated refining and petrochemical complex in southwestern Nigeria’s Lekki Free Trade Zone, in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos (OGJ Online, July 3, 2023).

Supplied by Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (NNPCL) and currently being discharged at the second of three single-point moorings of the complex’s nearby Dangote offshore oil terminal, the 1-million cargo of Nigerian light, sweet Agbami crude is the final batch of an overall 6-million bbl consignment scheduled for delivery to DRPC to enable the site’s initial production of diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG before subsequently progressing to output of premium motor spirit (PMS; gasoline), Dangote Group said in a Jan. 9 release.

The integrated refinery is slated to begin its formal commercial production of refined products by end-January, Dangote Group said.

The Jan. 9 Agbami cargo follows DRPC’s receipt of five previous 1-million bbl shipments of Nigerian domestic crude, the first of which was a batch of Agbami delivered on Dec. 8, 2023, by Shell International Trading and Shipping Co. Ltd. that—at the time—was to be followed by four cargos from NNPCL and a final sixth shipment from ExxonMobil Corp., the parent company said in a December 2023 release.

Ahead of this latest Jan. 9 Agbami cargo, the most recently confirmed shipment to DRPC under the six-cargo consignment included a 1-million bbl batch of Nigerian Bonny Light crude delivered by NNPCL on Jan. 1, according to official news agencies of the Nigerian government.

Details regarding the remaining three crude shipments included in the consignment have yet to be officially disclosed by either Dangote Group or NNPCL, the latter of which holds 20% equity interest in DRPC.

In its December 2023-issued estimate for domestic crude supplies to be required by Nigerian refineries during first-half 2024, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said DRPC’s nearly $20-billion complex would be operating at a capacity of about 325,000-b/d on a blend of unidentified Nigerian crudes.

Designed specifically for throughputs of 100% Nigerian crudes, DRPC’s complex also is equipped with flexibility to process most African crude grades, as well as crudes produced abroad—including Middle Eastern Arab Light and US light tight oil—to produce Euro 5-quality products that meet 100% of Nigeria’s domestic requirements with surplus available for export to international markets.