Buhari commissions Dangote Refinery in move expected to end Nigeria's fuel shortages

NIGERIA'S latest industrial venture the Dangote Refinery in Lagos State has begun operations today processing 650,000 barrels of oil a day in what is seen as the long term solution to Nigeria's chronic petroleum product crisis.

Despite being a major crude oil producer, Nigeria suffers from a domestic shortage of petroleum products and has to rely on imports. This is due to the fact that the country's three refineries are non-functional at the moment.

Stepping into the breach, Dangote Industries has built a private refinery in the Lekki area if Lagos State which will process crude oil grades from the three continents of Africa, Asia and America. It will deliver a surplus of about 38m litres of petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for Nigeria daily, enabling it meet all of the country's fuel supply requirements.

When fully functional, the Dangote Refinery will be able to support the establishment of 26,716 fillings stations, create 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and provide a $21bn market for Nigerian crude oil annually. President Muhammadu Buhari opened the refinery earlier today at an even attended by dignitaries from across the country.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is an industrial plant that transforms crude oil into various usable petroleum products such as diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and kerosene. Among other things, the refinery will produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.

This refinery will produce about 20m litres of petrol daily, 1m litres of kerosene, 1m litres of jet fuel and a surplus of 16m litres of diesel daily. For product evaluation, the refinery’s dispatch facilities by tankers for gasoline, diesel, kerosene/jet fuel, propane and slurry is up to 80% of the total production.

Dangote Industries is one of the few companies in the world executing a petroleum refinery and a petrochemical complex directly as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor. Globally, apart from three companies, no individual owner has done the complete EPC contract for a petroleum refinery.

Overall, the total number of temporary housing in the premises can accommodate 33,000 people. In addition, the refinery has its own dedicated steam and power generation system with adequate standby units for reliable/uninterrupted utility supply to operating plants and its power plant has a capacity of 435MW.