Dangote Refinery is ramping up production for the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, this month as sales of product is expected to circulate the local market in August.
This is contained in the company’s projection report seen by Nairametrics on Sunday.
The report indicates that the refinery will start producing PMS this month, with sales to local distributors commencing in August.
Initially, the $19 billion refinery will operate at 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), equating to about 15 cargoes monthly. It aims to reach its full capacity of 650,000 bpd by the first quarter of 2025.
“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 Aug, 550kbpd by end of the year, and 650kbpd by Q1 2025
“Gasoline production to commence in July with sales from August,” the report shows.
600 million liters reserves of petrol capacity
Furthermore, the report reveals that the refinery has a reserve capacity of 600 million liters of petrol, making it one of the largest in the world.
The refinery also has a potential capacity of 340 million for diesel and a 480 million for jet fuel.
In sum, the refinery has a reserve capacity of 4.74 billion liters of petroleum products, making it a secondary national reserve.
Nairametrics previously reported that when the Dangote refinery reaches full operational capacity, it will supply petroleum products to numerous African countries, as well as Brazil and the Caribbean.
With its immense capacity, the refinery will not only make Nigeria self-sufficient in energy but also challenge the European fuel import market in Africa.
What you should know
- The Dangote refinery which commenced production of diesel and jet fuel in March is now expected to begin producing PMS this month.
- In an earlier statement, the CEO of the oil firm, Aliko Dangote, said the production date for fuel was moved from June to middle of July due to a slight delay in production.
- “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 tank to make sure that it settles. So by third week of July, we’ll be able coming out to take it into the market,” Dangote said.
- Analysts believe that the $19 billion refinery is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
- By bolstering domestic production capacity, Nigeria can potentially achieve greater energy security and reduce its reliance on costly imports.