Dangote Refinery Delays Petrol Production to Mid-July.
Africa’s largest oil refinery, Dangote Refinery, has postponed the production of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from June to mid-July.
Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of the refinery, confirmed the revised production date to journalists at the $20 billion facility in Lagos on Monday.
Dangote attributed the shift to a minor delay, moving the initial June schedule to mid-July. He stated that petrol production would begin between July 10 and 15, with local supply starting from the third week of July.
READ: Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) Receives N110bn from Federal Government
“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then we want to keep it in tank to make sure that it settles. So by the third week of July, we’ll be able to start supplying the market,” Dangote explained.
Originally, the Dangote refinery was expected to commence petrol production and supply in June, as various reports indicated.
For instance, analysts at Standard and Poor’s Global (S&P Global) Commodities Insights anticipated that the refinery would begin petrol supply in the fourth quarter of this year, particularly in June.
“We are starting to see signs of activities, but all eyes are on when we’ll start to see gasoline production commence from that project. There is significant pressure from the Nigerian government for a substantial volume of that supply to be directed to the domestic market.
READ: 4 Strategies to Monetize Your Instagram Whether You Have 1K or 100K Followers
“In reality, the start of scaling up production is still subject to debate. Dangote has recently been pushing for aggressive timelines, stating they aim to produce gasoline by May. However, our analysts realistically expect production to commence in the fourth quarter of this year,” the analysts remarked.
Jet Fuel Exportation
Meanwhile, the refinery has already begun supplying jet fuel and diesel to domestic marketers in Nigeria. Additionally, it has started exporting its first jet fuel cargo to Europe.
The initial shipment, loaded onto the vessel “Doric Breeze,” departed from the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos on May 27th and is en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands, according to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.
Further Insights
The Dangote refinery is anticipated to significantly reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products. Despite being Africa’s most populous country and leading oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all of its fuel due to insufficient refining infrastructure—a gap the new refinery aims to fill.
Dangote emphasized the refinery’s potential to be one of the best in the world. “We aim to export petroleum products globally and compete with any company. By next week, we’ll be producing about ten thousand ppm in terms of diesel, whereas we currently import about 2 to 3 thousand. We will produce the best,” Dangote added.
Professional freelancer and webmaster.
+ There are no comments
Add yours