Dangote Group, the owners and operators of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, will commence crude oil production in 2025.
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A senior official of the refinery confirmed this on Saturday while reacting to an earlier report by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
“Yes, I saw the S&P report; our company is truly going to start crude oil production to support the refinery, but it is going to start in the first quarter of 2025,” a Dangote refinery source said to Punch correspondent in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
The crude oil production which is slated to begin in the first quarter for 2025 is coming amidst feedstock challenges facing the Dangote refinery.
An earlier report on Saturday by S&P Global Commodity Insights revealed that the Dangote Group was looking to start production at its two Nigerian oil assets in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“The company source said production at the company’s two Niger Delta upstream projects in Oil Mining Leases 71 and 72 would start at around 20,000 b/d, before ramping up further in the first quarter of 2025,” the report said.
The report added that Dangote was currently seeking a floating production, storage and offloading vessel with a capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude.
Production of the crude oil will be undertaken by West African Exploration and Production Company Limited (WAEP), an indigenous Nigerian Oil and Gas Company.
WAEP, founded in 2013, is a strategic partnership between Dangote Exploration Assets Limited (80%), Dansa Energy Resources Limited (5%) and First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited (15%).
The E&P company owns assets OML 71 and 72, both situated within the Eastern Offshore Structural province of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. They are 27km and 50km south of Bonny Island and at water depths of 65 ft and 131 ft respectively.
Start-up of production at OMLs 71 and 72 suggests that Dangote refinery could soon supplement its crude feedstock after battling crude supply issues for months.
The $20bn facility came online in January, and started up its residue catalytic cracker in early September, allowing for high-volume petrol production when the unit stabilises.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
