Petrol from Dangote Refinery to come on stream this week

The long-awaited petrol from Dangote Refinery is expected to come on stream this week, a development that is a major milestone in Nigeria’s energy sector.

According to two people who know the matter, Dangote facility near the commercial hub of Lagos is on the verge of producing large amounts of petrol expected to hit market this week.

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The sources told Bloomberg that the key to the plant’s petrol output is a unit called a reformer, which produces blend stock for the road fuel.

“That’s started operating, with gasoline production expected to begin by the end of the week,” one of the people said. Another source said petrol would be rolled out this week.

Dangote’s production will impact billions of dollars of trade in fuel markets regionally and beyond. Nigeria is a global demand sink for the fuel, receiving almost 250,000 barrels a day in shipments last year, mostly from Europe, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd.

“We are testing the product (petrol) and subsequently it will start flowing into the product tanks,” Devakumar Edwin, a vice president at Dangote Industries Limited told Reuters.

He did not say exactly when the gasoline would hit the local market.

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Edwin said state oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Nigeria’s sole importer of gasoline, would buy its gasoline exclusively.

“If no one is buying it, we will export it as we have been exporting our aviation jet fuel and diesel,” Edwin said.