Ekeomah Atuonwu
Dangote’s 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery in Nigeria will start production in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Group Executive, Devakumar Edwin.
He said, “75% hydraulic testing… and 70% electrical cable fitting have been completed in preparation for the refinery’s completion in the fourth quarter of this year.”
Edwin also stated that the refinery, which is being built in Lagos at a cost of $19 billion, will have a storage capacity of 4.74 billion litres. He also stated that 75% of products will be transported by sea within Nigeria.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, stated in January that his oil refinery project would begin production by the end of the third quarter and reach full capacity by early 2023.
The project has been delayed for several years, and the cost has risen from Dangote’s earlier estimates of $12 billion to $14 billion then to $19 billion.
Dangote, who made his fortune in the cement industry, first announced plans to build a refinery in 2013, with the project set to be completed in 2016.
The billionaire then relocated the site to Lekkiin Lagos, increased the size, and announced that production would begin in early 2020.
Despite being Africa’s biggest oil producer and exporter, Nigeria depends almost entirely on fuel imports after allowing its significant refining capacity of 445,000 bpd to become dilapidated over several decades.
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