The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa, is set to import crude from the United States (U.S.) in the coming months, a report has said.
The refinery is currently in the process of ramping up production, and it is expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2024.
Trafigura Group sold 2 million barrels of WTI Midland to the Dangote refinery for end-February delivery, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting traders with knowledge of the matter.
This is a significant development for Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, which is expected to help Nigeria reduce its reliance on imported fuel and become a net exporter of refined products.
This latest development will play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria as well as the West African countries.
Designed for 100% Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery can process most African crude grades as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US Light tight oil as well as crude from other countries.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and has a surplus of each of these products for export.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. procurement marks the first time the refinery will be buying non-Nigerian crude, adding that the exponential growth in U.S. oil supply over the past decade has reshaped the global market, extending its influence to regions like Asia.
Nigeria, whose economy heavily relies on petroleum exports, is particularly impacted by these transatlantic deliveries.
The new 650,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery commenced operations earlier this month. Initially targeting a processing rate of 350,000 barrels per day, the refinery aims to gradually escalate production towards its full capacity.
While the refinery primarily sources domestic crude through a supply agreement with the trading arm of the State-owned NNPCL, it recently received its first shipment of Nigeria’s Agbami crude, facilitated by a trading unit of Shell. Subsequent deliveries included Nigeria’s Amenam, Bonny Light, and CJ Blend streams.
Dangote Refinery had appeared set to commence production of refined petroleum products with the receipt of the sixth batch of barrels of crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) some weeks ago.
The fresh one million Agbami barrels of crude via MT ALMI SUN was the last cargo to complete the initial scheduled six million barrels consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility for commencement of operations by the world’s largest single-train refinery.
About a month ago, Dangote Refinery received the first one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria as well as globally, trading in over 8 million barrels of crude oil per day.
U.S. crude oil is generally lighter and sweeter than Nigerian crude oil, which makes it easier to refine.
Additionally, the US is a major producer of shale oil, which is a type of crude oil that is extracted from rock formations using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Shale oil production has boomed in recent years, and it has made the US a major exporter of crude oil.
