Nigeria to Unveil Africa’s Biggest Refinery in 2019

Upon operation, the refinery will have refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The construction of Dangote Refinery is already under way and is expected to get completed in 2019. The refinery, boasted as Africa’s largest refinery, is expected to solve much of Nigeria’s challenges when it comes to crude oil refining and exporting. Incidentally, Nigeria aims to become oil exporting country by that time.

The project is being constructed at an investment of nearly 16 billion dollars. Upon operation, the refinery will have refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. The country aims to refine and export almost 50% of the country’s crude. Currently, the country exports crude owing to shortage of refining facilities. Also, it is a net importer of refined crude.

The operations are expected to provide significant boost to Nigerian economy. The Dangote refinery could save around $12 billion in imports. Further, it could also lower prices of petroleum products in Nigeria. Also, it is expected to create nearly 4,000 direct and 145,000 indirect jobs. Mr Babajide Soyode, the Technical Consultant on Refinery said that the ambitious project would provide Nigeria with a new economic direction.

The proposed refinery complex will also house a petrochemical plant capable to produce 780 KTPA Polypropylene and 500 KTPA of Polyethylene. Also included is a fertilizer plant with a production capacity of 3 million metric tonnes of Urea every year.

A recent research report by BMI Research had hailed the start up of the refinery, which is expected to rope in latest and sophisticated technologies. At the same time, it warned that the country may struggle to increase its oil production to meet new demand. In addition, BMI has also warned that Nigeria may struggle to operate the refineries at higher utilization rates and maintain strong levels of export.