After numerous delays, the Dangote Refinery, a colossal $19 billion project located in Nigeria, is on the verge of commencing fuel production.
A pivotal moment for the country’s oil industry is marked by the arrival of the first crude shipment at the facility.
According to S&P Global, industry sources and tanker tracking data report that the OTIS tanker, transporting a 950,000 barrel cargo of Nigeria’s Agbami crude, embarked on its journey on December 6.
Presently en route to Lekki, the nearest land port to Dangote’s offshore crude receiving terminal, the tanker is anticipated to reach its destination on December 7 around 8 pm.
This shipment signifies the commencement of crude supplies essential for the refinery’s operations.
The Suezmax tanker, chartered by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), serves as the emblematic inaugural crude supply to Dangote’s state-of-the-art refinery.
This development comes as the refinery gears up for production, as disclosed by a West African oil trader familiar with the matter, according to the S&P report.
May, the lack of domestic crude feedstock had impeded oil product manufacturing. The NNPC, owning a 20% stake in the refinery, recently entered an agreement to supply 6 million barrels of crude oil as feedstock to the Dangote refinery in December, aiming to jumpstart operations.
Agbami, operated by Chevron, stands as one of Nigeria’s major deepwater developments, boasting a daily output of approximately 100,000 b/d in the central Niger Delta. Renowned for its light sweet crude qualities with specific gravity measuring 47.9 API and sulphur content of 0.04%, Agbami yields significant proportions of naphtha and kerosene.
