BREAKING: Production has commenced at the Dangote Refinery.

On Friday, production officially commenced at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company. The refinery, with a daily processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil, started its operations in May 2023 and received its fifth shipment of one million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited last week. Originally scheduled to open in 2021, the refinery was inaugurated in 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Akin Omole, the Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, stated that the ample supply of crude, totaling six million barrels, will facilitate the initial run of the refinery. The facility is designed to process crude oil from Africa, Asia, and America, and its output will include diesel, aviation fuel, LPG, and later, Premium Motor Spirit.

Situated in the Lekki Free Zone on 2,635 hectares of land on the outskirts of Lagos, the refinery features two Single Point Mooring systems (SPMs) for handling crude oil and three additional SPMs for releasing petroleum products. The truck-loading gantries are capable of loading 2,900 trucks per day. Despite the initial delays, the refinery, built by Aliko Dangote, has the potential to export excess petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel, meeting both domestic and international demands.

The news also anticipates that the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State will commence operations simultaneously. The Federal Government confirmed the start of operations at the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company in December.