Dangote Refinery is due to begin production by the fourth quarter of 2022. This is according to Dangote Group’s Executive Devakumar Edwin.
“75% hydraulic testing … as well as 70% of electrical cable fitting have been completed preparatory to the completion of the refinery in the fourth quarter of this year,” Edwin said during a site tour with Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture.
Edwin said the 650,000 barrels per day refinery project, which is under const at a cost of $19 billion in the Lekki area of Lagos State, has 4.74 billion litres of storage capacity, adding that 75% of products would be moved by sea within Nigeria.
Edwin’s disclosure is, however, contrary to what the project pioneer Aliko Dangote said in January.
BizWatch Nigeria had quoted Dangote as saying that the 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 by several years and the cost has shot to $19 billion from Dangote’s earlier estimates of $12 billion to $14 billion.
Meanwhile, Argus, a London-based petroleum and energy market information provider, has expressed confidence in the refinery project, saying it will positively impact Nigeria’s economy.
During an online workshop organised by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Vice President, Crude and African Markets, Argus, James Gooder said when the 650,000 barrels per day refinery commence its operations, a significant amount of foreign exchange (forex) would be saved as freight costs since petroleum products would then be refined in Nigeria.
“The impact of Dangote – it’s because of the freight advantage. You have production right here in Lagos. So, the crude doesn’t have to be sent to Europe, refined, and brought back. All of that freight saving is made. And what that will do is, it will reduce the marginal price that others have to compete with,” Gooder said.
