Dangote Refinery targets end of 2024 to start crude production

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The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, based in Lagos, will begin crude oil production in the fourth quarter of 2024.

A report by S&P Global Commodity Insights released on October 10 indicated that Dangote Refinery is actively searching for a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel capable of holding 650,000 barrels of crude oil.

A company source quoted in the report stated that production at the company’s two Niger Delta upstream projects in Oil Mining Leases 71 and 72 would start at around 20,000 b/d, before ramping up further in the first quarter of 2025.

Dangote Group is said to hold 85% stake in West African E&P Venture, which has a 45% working interest in the two blocks, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) holds the remaining 55%. Another key stakeholder in West African E&P is Nigerian upstream company First E&P, which operates Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 71 and 72.

The licenses for these blocks are located in shallow waters in the southeastern Niger Delta, approximately 22 km from the onshore Bonny terminal. The area contains the Kalaekule and Koronama oilfields

This position will hopefully the scarcity of crude supply to the 650,000 barrels capacity Dangote Refinery.

The refinery has suffered inadewuate crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL and has, consequently, had to import crude from countries such as Brazil, the U.S., and others.

This scarcity worsened in the face of tensions with international oil companies (IOCs), with Dangote accusing them of attempting to undermine the refinery’s success through price gouging and manipulation of crude sales.

However, the Federal Government approved the sale of crude oil to Dangote and other local refineries in naira, which was a temporary relief for the refinery.