Dangote Refinery To Receive First Crude Batch in June 2023

Dangote Refinery is gearing up plans to receive its first crude batch in June 2023. This was contained in a report released by S&P Global Commodity Insights on the 16th of May, 2023

The development comes as a representative from the refinery revealed that the refinery expects to commence processing this initial batch, consisting of 500,000 barrels per day (b/d), before gradually increasing production to 650,000 b/d by mid-2024. 

According to the report, a significant portion of the crude oil for the refinery will be sourced from Nigeria, a country with a production capacity of 2.5 million b/d. 

Dangote refinery manufactures gasoline, diesel, and polypropylene

Scheduled to be officially commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 22nd of May, 2023, the Dangote refinery will manufacture Euro 5-compliant gasoline, diesel, and polypropylene.

Information from S&P Global Commodity Insights revealed that motor gasoline (petrol) production is projected to rise from nearly zero currently to 249,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2026 and exceed 300,000 b/d by 2033. Additionally, the report states that petrol imports will decrease by over half to 154,000 b/d by 2026.

Furthermore, the data suggest that with Nigeria’s expected rapid population growth in the coming decades, imports will once again surpass domestic production by 2042. It also hinted that Nigeria will begin exporting gasoil for the first time, with production anticipated to increase from 3,500 b/d in 2023 to 211,000 b/d in 2027.

The commissioning of Dangote’s refinery is good news for Nigeria which has faced challenges in surpassing a daily output of 1.2 million b/d due to issues such as insecurity, theft, strikes, and operational problems related to ageing wells.