Dangote lists refinery shares March, supplies petrol August

•Dangote eyes fertiliser supply to African countries in two weeks, plans 70% of group’s revenue in forex

 The President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange before the end of March, 2025.

This came as the refinery again delayed the date for the supply of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, till August, another shift from July.

Dangote disclosed that the refinery was set to roll out its petrol in August 2024, having resolved its crude oil supply issues through the help of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Federal Government.

He stated these when he took senior journalists on a tour of the refinery and Dangote Fertilizer plants in Ibeji-Lekki, Lagos on Sunday.

We plan to list the refinery and petrochemical before the end of the first quarter of next year, ” he stated.

He noted that the issue the refinery was having with international oil companies regarding the supply of crude was resolved last week.

“The issue of crude has been settled last week. But we hope that the IOCs will respect it, ” he added.

Dangote also revealed that the Federal Government owned only a 7.2 per cent stake in the Dangote Refinery against the 20 per cent that was publicised.

“The Federal Government have only 7.2 per cent because it failed to pay for the balance for the 20 per cent stake

Recently, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, had last week accused international oil companies in the country of plotting to frustrate the survival of the new Dangote refinery.

Edwin said the IOCs were deliberately and willfully frustrating the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by hiking the cost above the market price by $6, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from countries as far as the US, with its attendant high costs.

Edwin stated, “The IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude.

“It seems that the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our petroleum refinery fails. It is either they are deliberately asking for a ridiculous and humongous premium or they simply state that crude is not available.

“At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price. This has forced us to reduce our output as well as import crude from countries as far as the US, increasing our cost of production.

“It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country, which exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria, thus making us dependent on imported products.”

‘Crude crisis resolved’

However, Dangote’s confirmation of the resolution of the crude crisis might be a soothing balm to Nigerians who feared the lack of feedstock might jerk up the price of the refinery’s PMS.

Our correspondents report that this will be about the third time the refinery will postpone its PMS delivery date since it commenced the supply of diesel and aviation fuel into the Nigerian market.

According to Dangote, the refinery commenced full operations in 2024. starting with the refining of intermediate products such as polypropylene, naphtha, RCO, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

He noted that the refinery steady state production phase commenced in March 2024 while also expecting the ramping up production to reach 500,000 barrels per day with 15 crude cargoes a month by next August, 550,000bpd by the end of the year, and 650,000bpd by the first quarter of 2025.

According to a presentation by Dangote during the tour, the refinery project is said to be fully online, with over $26bn being expected annually.

“Successful completion of trial run in January 2024. Refined and intermediate products include polypropylene, naphtha, RCO, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Steady state production phase commenced in March 2024.

“Ramping up production to reach 500kbpd (15 crude cargoes a month) by next August, 550kbpd by the end of the year, and 650kbpd by the first quarter of 2025. Gasoline production is to commence in July with sales from August. Annual revenue is projected to exceed $26bn,” Dangote stated.

He added that the refinery had dedicated loading gantries with 86 loading bays; dedicated marine facilities for offtake of crude and loading of petroleum products; 900-kilo tonnes per annum polypropylene plant, 36ktpa sulphur, and 585ktpa carbon black production.

The total storage capacity of the refinery is put at 4.5 billion litres, which can cover 20 days of crude requirement product storage for 15 days of Nigeria’s petrol consumption.

He averred that the refinery would produce 53 million litres of petrol per day and 1.1 million tonnes per day.

“The Dangote Refinery can meet Nigeria’s requirements and have a surplus for exports,” he boasted.

On oil and gas, he added further, “We have built over 200km of gas pipelines in partnership with NGIC on a BOT basis. We also have other projects in the pipeline including a 3 billion cubic feet East-West Gas Gathering System offshore pipeline (design and engineering completed, awaiting commercial framework); 600 million standard cubic feet onshore gas pipeline(construction stage); and 300mscf gas processing facility (design stage).

These projects, he said, would help deliver gas for further investment and also help stabilise gas pressure in the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System

The PUNCH recalls that during the Africa CEO Summit in Rwanda, Dangote promised that the refinery would put an end to the monthly importation of an average of 1 billion litres of premium motor spirit in Nigeria the moment the refinery started selling the product in June.

According to him, following the laid-down plans of the Dangote refinery, Nigeria will no longer need to import petrol starting in June.

Dangote also stated that his refinery can meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand.

He said, “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” he declared.

He added, “We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico.

“We have started producing jet fuel, we are producing diesel, and by next month, we’ll be producing gasoline. What that will do is that, it will be able to take most African crudes.”

In June, Dangote informed Nigerians his plan to release premium motor spirit into the market in the sixth month of the year would no longer be possible, sparking reactions from Nigerians.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote told newsmen during a tour of the facility with Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu of Lagos State and other dignitaries that the petrol from the 650,000 barrels capacity refinery would be out in July.

Dangote said this was due to some minor challenges, stating that the product would be out by July 10 to 15.

“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then we want to keep it in the tank to make sure that it settles. So by the third week of July, we’ll be able to come out to take it into the market,” Dangote had said.

Contrary to popular belief, Dangote announced that the NNPC has a 7.2 per cent stake and not 20 per cent as being speculated.