Dangote’s 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery in Nigeria is expected to start producing in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Group Executive Devakumar Edwin.
“75% hydraulic testing as well as 70% of electrical cable fitting have been completed preparatory to the completion of the refinery in the fourth quarter of this year,” Edwin said during a site tour with Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed.
The refinery, which is being built in Lagos at a cost of $19 billion, has a storage capacity of 4.74 billion litres, according to Edwin. He also stated that 75% of products will be transported by sea within Nigeria.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, claimed in January that his oil refinery project will start production by the end of the third quarter and be fully operational by early 2023.
The project has been delayed for several years, and the cost has risen from Dangote’s initial projections of $12 billion to $14 billion to $19 billion.
Dangote, who made his fortune in the cement industry, first announced his plans for a refinery in 2013, with the project set to be completed in 2016.
The billionaire subsequently relocated the factory to Lekki in Lagos, increased its capacity, and announced that production will begin in early 2020.
Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest oil producer and exporter, is nearly totally reliant on petroleum imports after letting its enormous refining capacity of 445,000 barrels per day deteriorate over several decades.
Recall, Dangote recently inaugurated a $2.5 billion fertiliser factory within his refinery and petrochemical complex, which is already shipping urea to the US, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.
During the site tour, Mohammed stated he saw a ship loaded with urea for sale to Argentina.