Africa’s Largest Oil Refinery Sends Its First Shipment Of Gasoline To Lagos

The Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria, the largest in Africa and surpassing all European countries in capacity, has shipped its first shipment of gasoline.

Per the port and ship-tracking data, the Sabaek vessel carried around 500,000 barrels of gasoline from the refinery to Lagos, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial hubs.

This shipment is a key milestone for the refinery as it continues to increase its production.

A source familiar with the refinery’s operations says the residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC), a core unit responsible for converting petroleum products into high-value fuels, has been increasing its output.

However, officials from the Dangote Group were unavailable to comment on the development.

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote funded the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery, which is expected to transform the region’s fuel market once it reaches full operational capacity.

Analysts believe that it might reduce West Africa’s dependence on European gasoline imports while also improving Nigeria’s crude oil supplies more effectively.

The refinery’s long-term goals include addressing Nigeria’s ongoing fuel shortages and reducing its heavy expenditures on imported petroleum products, which cost $23.3 billion last year alone.

The $19 billion petrochemical complex is one of Nigeria’s largest investments. It would generate a wide range of petroleum products, such as aviation fuel, diesel, and liquified petroleum gas (LPG).

Gasoline supplies began by truck about a month before the first shipment.

The refinery has received its first crude oil shipment from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (STASCO). The one million-barrel delivery arrived on a chartered vessel and was unloaded into the refinery’s crude tanks, per a statement by the Dangote Group.

The refinery’s initial operational phases will rely on six million barrels of crude oil, with more shipments coming from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and ExxonMobil in the coming months.

The arrangement is part of an agreement with NNPC, which shares a 20% stake in the refinery, to supply a consistent flow of crude oil necessary for production.

Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria continues to face fuel shortages due to its dependency on fuel imports to meet its domestic demand of around 33 million litres of petrol daily.

Dangote discussed the focus of scaling up operations to reach maximum capacity, which he believes will make Nigeria a net fuel exporter for the first time in history.

Reference: BNN Bloomberg, TRT Afrika

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Source: Maritime Shipping News