Dangote Refinery is on the brink of initiating its test runs this week, marking a significant milestone with the arrival of its sixth 1 million barrel crude cargo on Monday, as confirmed by a company official speaking to Reuters.
A spokesperson for Dangote, in a statement, disclosed that the latest delivery comprised 1 million barrels of oil from the Agbami field in the Niger Delta. This brings the total amount of crude delivered to the facility to 6 million barrels since the arrival of the first cargo in December.
He remarked, “Subsequently, we will continuously buy crude and commission the other departments. Saleable products will start coming from the first week itself. But, of course, the volume will be limited, and the variety of saleable products will also be limited, and it will start building up as each major department gets commissioned.” The refinery’s senior executive outlined the upcoming steps, highlighting the imminent commencement of the crude distillation unit, a pivotal refining process element likely to kick off within the next week.
The Dangote refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels, aims to eliminate the need for petroleum product imports in Nigeria and cater to the energy requirements of other nations in the West African sub-region. Despite facing delays and missed deadlines since its May commission, the refinery received its first crude shipment in December. It has since accumulated around 5 million barrels of oil in preparation for the impending test run.
Earlier reports indicated that the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has mandated oil-producing companies to supply 350,000 barrels daily to the Dangote refinery in the first half of 2024. This aligns with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provisions, signed into law in 2021.
