After Several Delays, Dangote $19bn Oil Refinery To Begin Operations In September

Barring any last minute change in plans, the much awaited Dangote Refinery will begin operations by the end of September this year.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, said mechanical work on his much-awaited crude oil refinery located at the Lekki Free Zone, in Lagos State, had been completed.

Dangote disclosed this during a facility tour of the oil refinery, the fertiliser plant, and the Dangote Jetty, in the company of President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

Dangote refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day integrated refinery and petrochemical project under construction in Lagos

The facility, will cost an estimated $19bn to build.

Dangote said full production at the refinery could commence by the end of the year or the beginning of 2023.

He assured the AfDB Boss that Dangote Group would continue to do more towards strengthening investment in the country, stating that the company has been meeting its tax obligations.

“Hopefully, before the end of the third quarter we should be in the market,” he stated.

The plant will start with a processing capacity of 540, 000 barrels per day, Dangote said, with full-fledged activities expected by the end of the year.

“Full production can start, maybe, by the end of the year or beginning of 2023,” he said.

Nigerian think tanks have said that the much anticipated refinery will boost growth in the country’s downstream sector in 2022.

The founder of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise Dr. Muda Yusuf, said in CPPE’s 2022 Economic Outlook that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2022 is expected to have a positive impact on the economy.

Yusuf said, “We expect to see positive outcomes as investor sentiments in the oil and gas sector improve on account of the reforms anchored on the PIA.

“This will however depend on the political will deployed to drive the implementation of the provisions of the Act. It is also expected that the coming on stream of the Dangote refinery in 2022 will also impact positively on the downstream sector of the economy.”

Global energy demand is projected to be high in 2022 with oil price set to hit $100 per barrel.

Yusuf said that if the Dangote refinery comes on stream in 2022, the fiscal pressure on the economy may abate, but the pressure will not be completely eliminated.

He revealed that despite the downside risks, the economy would continue to present huge opportunities for investors across all sectors.

Also, the Financial Derivatives Company Limited, a financial institution, in its recent Economic Report for 2022, was also optimistic that the Dangote Refinery would boost the growth of the downstream sector of the economy and enhance petroleum products distribution across Africa.