Dangote Refinery Set to be Inaugurated on May 22, 2023, Boosting Nigeria's Self-Sufficiency in Oil Refining

In a matter of weeks, specifically on May 22, 2023, the Dangote Refinery, hailed as the largest single-train refinery worldwide, is anticipated to be officially launched by President Muhammadu Buhari. The news has brought a sense of relief to Nigerians and stakeholders alike, who have eagerly awaited the refinery's opening. The refinery's operations will lend support to the Federal Government's mission of achieving self-sufficiency in petroleum refining, reducing Nigeria's dependence on expensive imports.

The Dangote Industries Statement reads: 

“Our attention has been drawn to some misleading reports regarding the commissioning of our Dangote Refinery during the present working visit of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR to Lagos State.”

“We want to state categorically that our 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Refinery project was never part of the President’s programme on projects to be commissioned.”

‘’For the record, the projects slated for commissioning in Lagos State by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR include Lekki Deep Sea Port; 32-Metric Tonnes Lagos Rice Mill, Imota; 18.75km Eleko to Epe T Junction Express road; John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan, Blue Line Rail (Phase 1) commissioning (Marina to Mile 2); Groundbreaking for the Blue Line Rail Phase 2 (Mile 2 to Okokomaiko), and MRS Lubricant, a private project in Apapa.‘“ 

’However, our Refinery will be commissioned before President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR formally leaves office in May 2023, and the public will be duly informed and invited to the epic event.’’

The Special Assistant to President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad did disclose this in a tweet on his handle.

Bashir Ahmad’s tweet reads: 

“Efforts by the Federal Government to make Nigeria self-sufficient in local refining of crude oil to save the scarce foreign exchange used in the importation of petroleum products have received a boost as the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery, is set for inauguration on May 22nd, 2023, by President Muhammadu Buhari”.

IMPORTANT FACTS TO NOTE 

•The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, Nigeria's Lekki Free Zone, is an integrated refinery and petrochemical project capable of processing 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Upon completion, it will be Africa's largest oil refinery and the world's largest single-train facility. The project, which is estimated to cost $19 billion, is owned by the Dangote Group and is designed to not only meet Nigeria's entire refined petroleum product needs but also produce a surplus for export.

•Due to the large capacity of the refinery, its pipeline infrastructure is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometres to handle 3 billion Standard Cubic Feet per day (Scf/d) of gas. There is general optimism among stakeholders that the much-expected Dangote refinery will change the narratives in the nation’s downstream sector this year as it is expected to be one of the key drivers of growth that would impact positively on the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy in 2022.

•On completion, the refinery is expected to meet 100 percent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.

In terms of its completion date, the Dangote Refinery project has faced various setbacks, primarily caused by funding challenges, difficulties in importing necessary equipment such as steel, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused economic disruption that exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains, leading to delays in transporting equipment to the refinery, among other issues.

The Dangote Refinery was originally planned to be completed in 2019, but the completion date had to be postponed multiple times. In January 2022, Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, announced that their subsidiary refinery would begin processing crude oil in the third quarter of the same year. However, sources familiar with the project's progress expressed doubt that the refinery would be ready to produce fuel, diesel, and other by-products of crude oil for use by Nigerians at that time.