The Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, has given the assurance that production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals will commence in July.
Edwin gave the assurance during a site visit to Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State by Manhattan, New York-based S&P Global as part of Nigeria’s credit rating assessment.
He reiterated that the company will commence petrol production in July as earlier promised. According to Edwin, the move will utilize Africa’s abundant crude oil reserves to produce locally refined products.
He added that the company wants to create a virtuous cycle of industrial development, job creation, and economic prosperity. Edwin also stated that the products from the $20 billion facility will be of high quality and meet international standards.
He specified that the plant would be able to meet 100 percent of Nigeria’s demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel, with any surplus available for export. International financial analyst firm S&P Global said the 650,000 barrels per day refinery could solve Nigeria’s foreign exchange problems and the huge pressure on the local currency, the naira.
Ravi Bhatia, director and senior analyst for sovereign and international public financial ratings at S&P Global Ratings, who led the delegation to Lagos, said the Dangote refinery would transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products.
Bhatia added that the transformation is expected to increase revenues and ease the current pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
“This is a very impressive facility that can process 650,000 barrels per day at full capacity. This is the largest single-train refinery complex in the world. That came out pretty quickly. Nigeria is a major exporter of crude oil but struggles to import refined fuel.”
“So there is a gap in the market for crude oil to be refined in Nigeria, it will save costs and potentially save foreign exchange as well. This will have a positive impact on the economy in the medium term. Our assessment is that the situation is looking positive,” Bhatia said after a more than four-hour tour of the facility.
The S&P team commended Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Industries Limited, for installing advanced technology and quality control measures, including a state-of-the-art central control unit that ensures smooth automation of operations.
Other members of the international ratings agency team include Deputy Director, of Sovereign Ratings, McMillian McGraw; Director, of Corporate Ratings, Omeg Kolokot; Senior Analyst, of Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masbongo; and Director, of Financial Services, Samira Mensah.
According to Edwin, the refinery is currently operating at a capacity of 350,000 barrels per day but is expected to ramp up to at least 500,000 barrels per day by July or August when it will begin refining ultra-low sulphur gasoline and diesel.
He noted that the refinery is designed to process a wide range of crude oils, including US light crude as well as a variety of African and Middle Eastern crudes, and is Euro V compliant.
It is further designed to comply with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), European Union (EU) emission standards, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) discharge/wastewater standards, and African Refining and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.
He noted that most refineries were built by foreign companies, but said he was proud that a Nigerian company, while directly acting as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractor (EPC), designed and built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex.
The refinery also has a self-sufficient shipping facility capable of handling the world’s largest vessels. “The refinery is capable of producing the world’s highest quality product of Euro V class. It is one of the energy-efficient refineries and is very environmentally friendly. It is highly developed and highly automated. The largest single refinery in the world is being entirely designed, engineered, and constructed by a Nigerian company as the EPC contractor,” he said.
