Dangote Refinery to Start Operation in 2021
Dangote refinery, which is being built in Lagos by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is scheduled to start production at full capacity in 2021, a senior executive of the company has said.
The company’s Group Executive Director, Devakumar Edwin, told journalists in Lagos that the refinery will be ready for operation at the beginning of 2021, with full capacity reached by the end of the first half of the year.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest crude oil producer, but lacks refining capacity to meet its own fuel needs.
“The Dangote refinery, which is designed to maximise petrol output, will produce enough to allow for a small surplus of that fuel for export. It will also be able to send a large volume of diesel and jet fuel to international markets”, Bloomberg quoted Edwin as saying.
“We are confident that we can meet 100 per cent of the requirement of the country; so, the balance will go for export,”
Edwin said.
He disclosed that Dangote plans to take advantage of local crude supply, adding that it won’t participate in the crude-for-fuel swap deal that is managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“We are going to buy the crude just at the export price and will sell our products at the import price, the crude swap is operating only for the importers of the product,” Edwin said.
The new refinery has been designed to process varieties of crude from sweet to light crude sourced both locally, and abroad. Dangote plans to export its diesel to Europe and gasoline to Latin America, Western and Central African markets, Edwin said.
Evacuation of refined products will be done by sea and through roads, he said.
“We are thinking of investing in vessels. We want to make sure we are not held for ransom by any transport operators.”