Aliko Dangote, Africa's wealthiest individual, recently announced that the output from his $19 billion refinery complex will soon be accessible throughout Nigeria and globally. Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Saudi-Nigeria business roundtable, Alhaji Dangote attributed the refinery's delayed production to the decision to commence refining with locally produced crude oil in Nigeria instead of relying on imported raw crude. He emphasized that the refinery has already obtained a license to refine 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Dangote stated, "We don't want to start our refinery with foreign goods; we want to start with Nigerian crude. We're more than ready, and you will see our gasoline products soon." He highlighted that Nigeria will be the primary market for the refinery's products before expanding exports to neighboring countries in West Africa and globally.
According to him, "The refinery's first priority is to supply gasoline to Nigeria before exporting to elsewhere, including the West African region."
Providing context, the $19 billion Dangote refinery was commissioned shortly before the departure of former President Buhari from office. Despite initial expectations of commencing production in late July or early August, the facility has faced consistent delays. With a daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels, the refinery is anticipated to yield 27 million liters of diesel, 11 million liters of kerosene, and 9 million liters of jet fuel. Dangote, whose net worth is estimated at $16.2 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, revealed that the crude for the facility will be sourced from various producers in Nigeria, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Despite Nigeria being a major crude oil producer in Africa, the country has historically resorted to imports to meet its refined petrol demand, necessitating subsidies to maintain low prices. In May, President Tinubu ended the subsidy program, which had cost the country around $10 billion in 2022.