“We Expect”: FG Breaks Silence on Petrol Production from Dangote, Port Harcourt Refineries

• The Nigerian government is hopeful that the Dangote and Port Harcourt refineries will commence operations soon
• The government disclosed that petrol production from these refineries will boost supplies in Nigeria, Africa and Europe
• The two refineries are reportedly in different stages of production, with the Port Harcourt refinery expected to start pumping fuel on August 31

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The Nigerian government has said that petrol production from the Port Harcourt and the Dangote refineries is expected to increase by November, impacting fuel supply in Nigeria, Africa and Europe.

The office of the minister of Finance also disclosed that the first petrol from the Dangote Refinery is expected by September 2024.

Dangote Refinery finally gets approval

Industry sources said that the Dangote Refinery received regulatory approvals this year to commence operations of its fluid catalytic cracker and alkylation units in April and May.

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Dangote refinery set to launch petrol sales, report gives new date

According to reports, the firm delayed production from these units, prioritising sales within the domestic markets.

A BusinessDay report that the Port Harcourt refinery operations are ongoing to begin a 60,000bpd section by August 31.

The refinery recently got 450,000 barrels of domestic crude in July, making it the second supply after a previous delivery of 475,000 barrels earlier in the year.

Port Harcourt refinery gets approval to fuel

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has also applied for licences to sell Kerosene and diesel from the 210,000 Port Harcourt refinery in the local market and permits to export naphtha and fuel oil.

Also, the catalytic reformer and feed unit for the refinery’s 60,000bpd section is anticipated to begin operations in early October to upgrade naphtha.

The Italian company Maire Tecnimont, which won the $1.5 billion contract in April 2021 to fix the refinery to 90% of its nameplate capacity, said in June that work was 84.6% complete, with procurement at 99%, engineering at 98%, and construction pegged at 73%.

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Dangote refinery gets new rival as another African country begins construction of refinery

The Nigerian government announced that the NNPC will commence the sale of crude oil to the Dangote in naira from October 1.

Previous crude supplies by the NNPC to the Dangote Refinery have been in dollars. However, this new arrangement is expected to address Dangote’s worries over high forex prices and limited access to Nigerian crude grades.

Reports say that the NNPC supplied the Dangote Refinery with over 3.6 million barrels of crude in July, including a 720,000-barrel cargo of Brass River.

Oil producers reject mandate to sell crude to Dangote

Legit.ng earlier reported that in what was seen as a blow to the Dangote and other local refineries, oil producers warned against being compelled to sell crude oil to the refineries.

The producers, under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to re-direct its assigned crude volumes to the local refineries to mitigate the supply shortage experienced by the refiners.

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After Dangote, Another refinery secures license to begin operation

The chairman of IPPG, Abdulrazak Isa, disclosed in a letter dated August 16, 2024, and addressed to the chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Ggbenga Komolafe, that the NNPC should use its 445 000 barrels per day intervention crude volume to help the local refineries to meet their targets.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng