Nigeria’s NNPC, the state oil company, is anticipated to provide four crude shipments from its February schedule to the Dangote refinery, set to begin operations following extensive construction delays, disclosed three sources familiar with the situation to Reuters.
The highly-anticipated Dangote refinery, touted as Africa’s largest, is on the verge of commencing test runs and has already received six initial crude shipments, according to its recent statement.
Nigeria, an OPEC member heavily reliant on fuel imports, anticipates the Dangote refinery’s transformational impact, envisaging self-sufficiency in fuel production and the ability to export to West African neighbours, reshaping the oil trading landscape in the Atlantic Basin.
The refinery welcomed 1 million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude on Monday, adding to the total 6 million barrels received since December, with NNPC supplying four of these cargoes, as detailed by two sources.
NNPC’s spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while Edwin Devakumar, Dangote’s group executive director for strategy, highlighted the refinery’s cautious approach, expressing concerns about inventory buildup and costs if cargo requests continued.
Devakumar emphasised plans for an initial operation of 8–10 days before pursuing further cargo arrangements, hinting at exploring crude supplies from other countries beyond Nigeria.
Sources indicated that the refinery designated four NNPC cargoes for February. NNPC, however, opted to await the refinery’s test runs before dispatching additional oil shipments.
Dangote envisions an initial processing capacity of 350,000 bpd, targeting full-capacity operation by year-end.
