The Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria has received its first cargo of one million barrels of crude oil from Shell International Trading and Shipping Co (STASCO), bringing the start of operations closer after years of delays.
Once fully running, the 650 000 barrel-per-day refinery funded by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote will turn oil powerhouse Nigeria into a net exporter of fuels, a long-sought goal for the OPEC member that almost totally relies on imports.
Dangote Group said in a statement seen by Reuters on Friday that the cargo of one million barrels of crude from Agbami – a deep water field run by Chevron was the first of six million barrels that would enable an initial run of the refinery.
That will kick-start output of diesel, aviation fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, before the refinery later starts producing Premium Motor Spirit.
Nigeria commissioned the refinery in May, after it ran years behind schedule.
At a cost of $19 billion, the massive petrochemical complex is one of Nigeria’s single largest investments.
