With plans to process 540,000 barrels of oil per day, the Dangote refinery is set to commence operations in the third quarter of 2022.
This development is expected to further improve Nigeria’s foreign earnings, boost GDP growth and also put an end to the importation of petroleum products into the country.
With a maximum crude oil production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria ranks as Africa’s largest producer of oil and the sixth-largest oil-producing country in the world.
Despite achieving this feat and having four refineries in various states in the country (Rivers, Delta and Kaduna), Nigeria still imports over 80% of refined products to meet its current needs. The country also ranks as the 3rd highest importer of petroleum products in Africa.
This is because the country has consistently struggled to keep its refineries functioning due to poor maintenance, among other factors.
An analysis of ‘Nigeria’s Refining Revolution’ by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that over the last four decades, Nigeria has consistently struggled to keep its refineries functioning optimally.
Investors King gathered that the Dangote refinery which is under construction at the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.
Its output is expected to be more than enough to meet Nigeria’s fuel demands and turn Africa’s largest crude producer into an exporter of refined crude.
The chairman of Dangote Industries Limited and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote also disclosed plans to set up an industrial manufacturing corps on the continent made up of the engineers that built the refinery. This, according to him, will ensure that the skills gained can be shared with other countries in Africa and outside the continent.
The Pipeline Infrastructure at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometers to handle 3 Billion Standard Cubic Foot of gas per day.
The Refinery has a 400MW Power Plant that is able to meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a multi-billion dollar project expected to create a market for $11 Billion per annum of Nigerian Crude. It is designed to process Nigerian crude with the ability to also process other crudes.