Key Points:
- Africa’s biggest refinery pushes back petrol production from June to mid-July for quality control.
- Expect gasoline by July 15, with deliveries to distributors soon after. This delay follows initial May and June projections.
- Refinery already exports jet fuel & aims to be a major fuel exporter despite the short-term delay.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has delayed the start of gasoline production at his $20 billion Dangote Oil Refinery, Africa’s largest, to mid-July. The petrochemical complex was previously scheduled to begin churning out premium motor spirit (PMS) in June.
Dangote confirmed the postponement during a recent press tour, attributing it to a focus on quality control.“There was a slight delay,” Dangote said. “But PMS production will commence by mid-July. We want to ensure the product settles in our tanks before release. By the third week, it will be ready for distribution.”
Quality control measures
The refinery is now expected to begin petrol production between July 10 and 15, with deliveries to local marketers starting in the third week of July. This delay allows for essential quality control measures to be implemented.
Analysts had projected varying timelines for petrol production. S&P Global Commodities Insights initially forecast a fourth-quarter launch, though June was seen as an optimistic target. Despite these projections, Dangote had recently mentioned May as a potential start date, which analysts considered ambitious.
Broader operations and environmental commitments
Despite the delay in petrol production, the refinery has started supplying fuel to local markets and recently exported its first shipment of jet fuel to Europe. The complex, located on the outskirts of Lagos, includes a polypropylene plant with an annual output of 1 million metric tonnes and two large fertilizer trains with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes of urea.
The refinery emphasizes environmental sustainability, recycling all process water, generating 50MW of power from waste heat, and producing Euro-V standard fuels. Advanced carbon capture technologies are also employed to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate the environmental impact of crude oil transportation.
With a single-train capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the $20.5 billion refinery aims to become a major exporter of refined products across Africa and beyond, with potential markets extending to Brazil. While the delay presents a short-term challenge, the refinery’s long-term goals remain intact.
