The much-awaited Dangote Refinery, the largest single-train refinery in the world, will begin operations today. With a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the facility was designed and built to process crude oil grades sourced from Africa, Asia and America. The refinery will meet the 100% fuel supply requirements of Nigeria and deliver a surplus of about 38 million litres of petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel per day.
According to a statement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Project, the facility will provide a $21 billion market for Nigerian crude oil annually and create 100,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. The refinery boasts a year-round operation for road loading operation, 177 tank farms with a combined capacity of 4.74 billion liters, and 2,900 tankers. The power plant has a capacity of 435MW.
The refinery’s dispatch facilities will distribute the products through marine facilities up to 75% and approximately 80% through road (tanker) facilities. The refinery was “designed to use the latest technology to comply with stringent guidelines and regulations to protect the local environment and produce environmentally friendly petroleum products for worldwide markets,” stated official documents.
The Dangote Refinery project is complex and features various components, including engineering, procurement, construction, and related storage facilities, all within the Dangote Industries Free Zone Area of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Additionally, the refinery will produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
The refinery’s inauguration, scheduled for today, will attract the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and other African leaders, including Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Niger and Chad, and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Furthermore, captains of industries, global oil traders, top international bankers, and multilateral agencies have indicated their readiness to grace the occasion.
