The director of the Dangote refinery, Edwin Devakumar, articulated on Monday that the facility, recognized as the largest in Africa, may commence operations at its full capacity within a timeframe of 30 days.
CREEBHILLS notes that the refinery, possessing a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and established by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos, initiated the conversion of crude oil into various products, encompassing diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel, in January of the previous year, and commenced the processing of petrol in September.
The refinery aspires to rival European refineries upon achieving full operational capacity; however, it has encountered challenges in procuring adequate crude supplies locally.
Devakumar indicated that the refinery is presently functioning at 85% of its capacity and stated, “we can attain 100 percent within 30 days.”
It is noteworthy that last year, the refinery resorted to the importation of crude oil after failing to secure adequate volumes, despite an agreement with the Nigerian government to purchase crude in the local naira currency.
As per the oil regulatory authority, it has requested a supply of 550,000 barrels per day of crude oil for the period spanning January to June of this year from indigenous oil producers in Nigeria.
The oil regulatory authority has also announced that it would restrict export permits for oil cargoes from producers who do not fulfill their designated supply quotas to local refineries.
The Dangote Oil Refinery is actively investigating new markets for the distribution of its refined products.
The founder, Aliko Dangote, informed a contingent of Nigerian professionals who visited last week that the refinery is dispatching two cargoes of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco as part of its strategic expansion initiatives.
