Milestone for Dangote refinery as one million barrels of agbami crude acquired

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, with its capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, achieved a significant milestone by securing one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO). This comes after months of delays and marks a crucial step toward the refinery’s operational commencement.

In an official statement released on Thursday, the company revealed its strategic procurement plans, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) expected to supply the next four cargoes within the next two to three weeks. Following NNPC’s deliveries, ExxonMobil is set to provide the final six cargoes to complete the first phase of the 6 million barrels of crude oil.

The statement further emphasized that the initial cargo from STASCO, consisting of 1 million barrels from Agbami, was successfully delivered to the Dangote Refinery’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) and subsequently discharged into the refinery’s crude oil tanks.

This development follows the refinery’s inauguration by former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 22 of the previous year, with an initial operational target set for July. Despite initial delays, the Executive Director of the Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, has confirmed that the refinery is poised to commence operations in October 2023.

While concerns have been raised over the delays by Gbenga Komolafe, the Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the recent acquisition of crude oil signifies a positive stride for the Dangote Refinery towards realizing its operational goals.