In a strategic move, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Africa’s largest refinery, is gearing up to import crude oil from the United States, signaling the increasing competitiveness of American barrels in the global market.
The $20 billion facility, located in the Dangote Industries Free Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, is set to intensify its operations to produce refined products.
According to Bloomberg’s report on Monday, the refinery is also expecting a delivery of two million barrels of crude oil from Trafigura Group in February. This marks a significant development as it is the first time the refinery has purchased non-Nigerian crude.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Project, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, is a substantial 650,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery, capable of transforming crude oil into various petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and kerosene.
The facility, situated 25km from the shore, has already received six million barrels of crude oil through its two Single Point Mooring (SPM) systems.
The first delivery took place on December 12, 2023, and the most recent cargo arrived on January 8, 2024, supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other international oil companies operating in Nigeria.
Trafigura Group’s sale of two million barrels of WTI Midland to Dangote refinery, as reported by Bloomberg, adds another dimension to the refinery’s global crude sources.
Trafigura, a multinational commodity trading company, operates globally in the oil and petroleum products market.
This move aligns with the refinery’s capability to process crude oil from various countries.
The decision to import from the US underscores the impact of the growth in US oil supply over the past decade, reshaping global markets and reaching regions like Asia.
Nigeria, heavily reliant on petroleum exports, experiences the influence of these transatlantic deliveries.
It is worth noting that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery had earlier reported the importation of crude oil.
The Executive Director, Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, clarified that this was a temporary measure, and the facility would receive supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited starting November.
While initial projections for production and product release in 2023 did not materialize as expected, the refinery’s move to diversify its crude sources and its continued preparations for full-scale production indicate its commitment to meeting demands in the ever-evolving global energy landscape.
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