Nigeria’s mega Dangote Oil refinery, Africa’s largest, could begin operating at full capacity in 30 days, the head of the refinery, Edwin Devakumar, told Reuters yesterday.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery built by Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, in Lagos began processing crude into products, including diesel, naphtha and jet fuel, in January last year and started processing petrol in September.
It aims to compete with European refiners when operating at full capacity but has been struggling to secure sufficient crude locally.
The Dangote Refinery is a massive oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Lagos, Nigeria. Developed by Dangote Group, it is one of the largest refineries in the world and the biggest in Africa. The facility, located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, is designed to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it a game-changer for Nigeria’s energy sector.
Costing about $20 billion to build, the refinery has helped to partly meet local demand and has reduced reliance on imports.
Head of the Dangote oil refinery, Devakumar, said the refinery was currently operating at 85 per cent capacity and “we can go 100 percent in 30 days.”
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Last year, the refinery turned to importing crude after it was unable to secure sufficient volumes despite an agreement with the Nigerian government to buy crude in the local naira currency, the Reuters report noted.
It has asked for 550,000 bpd of crude for January-June this year from oil producers in Nigeria, according to the oil regulator, which has also said it would block export permits for oil cargoes from producers who fail to meet their stipulated supply quota to local refineries.
The Dangote Oil Refinery is exploring new markets for its refined products. Founder Aliko Dangote told a group of Nigerian professionals who visited last week that it was sending two cargoes of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco as part of its plans to expand. “We are looking at all the markets right now,” said Devakumar.
Meanwhile, oil prices rebounded on Monday despite lingering fears over a potential global trade war after the US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff plans, this time targeting steel and aluminium.
Brent crude futures were up 87 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $75.53 a barrel, with US West Texas Intermediate crude adding 1.3 per cent, rising 90 cents to $71.90.
Monday’s gains could be down to bargain hunting after the market posted a third consecutive weekly decline last week, pressured by the concerns over global trade, a Reuters report said.
US President, Donald Trump, said he will announce on Monday 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States.
A week ago he announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, but suspended those for the neighbouring countries the next day.
Brent crude is forecast to average $60 to $65 a barrel in the second half of 2025 because Trump will be persistent in his desire to lower energy prices and he will ultimately prove to be a bearish influence on the market, Citi analysts said.
