The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has assured Nigerians that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery currently holds over 500 million litres of petrol, with enough refined products to meet local demand and export needs.
Speaking during a tour of the $20 billion Lekki-based refinery alongside Zambia’s Minister for Energy, Makozo Chikote, Dangote emphasized that the facility has N600 billion worth of fuel stocks and is gearing up for full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day next month.
“We can satisfy more than the local needs of Nigeria. As we speak, we have more than half a billion litres (of petrol). We have more than N600bn worth of stocks here today in the refinery. We have more than enough. The refinery is producing enough refined products, like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirements,” he stated.
Dangote Refinery’s Competitive Edge in Fuel Quality
The business mogul highlighted the exceptional quality of Dangote’s refined fuel, stating that no refinery in Africa or even Europe matches its standard. “In terms of quality, there is actually no refinery in Africa, even in Europe, that can produce our type of quality. We want to be flexible, you know the laws keep changing,” he said.
He further explained that the refinery produces fuel with zero parts per million (ppm) sulphur content and 95 octane rating, which surpasses international benchmarks. “Today, they will say 150 parts per million; tomorrow it’s 50 ppm, but we can produce up to zero ppm. This means we can do winter diesel, we can do Euro-5. No refinery around here can do that. When you read the news, you see that a lot of refineries now, especially in Europe, shutting down because of our own refinery. Our refinery is a percentage of the world’s production.“
“Obviously, if we pump a lot, some of them will not be able to sell, that’s why in some countries, they will offer them money to just keep dumping. But then, we have to weather that storm up to the time that we will be able to be on our feet,” he added.
Local Consumption vs. Export Plans
Dangote noted that only 40% of the refinery’s total production is required for Nigeria’s fuel needs, while 60% will be exported to other countries, particularly in Africa. “The maximum local consumption is around 40 per cent, but 60 per cent will be exported. We are making a lot of arrangements with some banks to make sure most of the products are sold within Africa; so that it can be a real African refinery, not done just for us to come and process raw materials and ship the products outside Africa. The problem has always been letters of credit; we are working with Afreximbank to resolve that financing issue,“ he said.
Dangote Refinery’s Production Breakdown
According to Vice President of Dangote Group, Davakumar Edwin, the refinery’s strategic location near the Atlantic Ocean gives it an export advantage. Providing a breakdown of daily production, Edwin said: 57 million litres of petrol, 20 million litres of jet fuel, 37 million litres of diesel. The local consumption is just 46 million litres. The rest, 58 million litres, will be exported on a daily basis,” he explained.
The refinery has storage facilities with a total of 177 tanks that can hold 4.742 billion litres of fuel, ensuring sustained supply.
Substandard Fuel Debate: Dangote Refinery and NNPC Defend Petrol Grades
Addressing concerns about fuel importation, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) recently stated that local refineries could not yet meet 50% of Nigeria’s PMS consumption, necessitating imports to fill the gap.
However, with Dangote Refinery ramping up operations, it aims to eliminate Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel in the near future.