The Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria on Friday received its first cargo of 1 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 exporterof 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 1 million barrels of crude from Agbami – a deep water field run by Chevron was the first of 6 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.
A Dangote Group spokesperson said the STASCO cargo arrived on a chartered vessel and was discharged into the refinery’s crude oil tanks.