Dangote refinery to generate $27 billion annual revenue as production will finally start after delays

Africa’s largest oil refinery, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and Petrochemicals Plant, is undoubtedly a game changer in the history of industrialization in Africa.

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Aliko Dangote launched his petrochemical refinery plant on May 22, 2023, with the refinery seen as a boost and solution to the challenges faced by the government of Nigeria, which has been unable to get the country’s three refineries functioning.

For several years the country has relied on the importation of refined petroleum products and spent billions of dollars on fuel subsidies. At the 2023 Nigerian Upstream Investment Management Services’ (NUIMS) Annual Value Assurance Review (AVAR) Workshop, Dangote said he had all his grey hairs in the last four years because of the refinery project.

The facility, which is $20 billion, has been described as a game changer in Africa’s petrochemical industry and is expected to revive Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, with peak production levels at an estimated 2.2 million barrels per day. However, the country lacks the capacity to process its crude oil.

Recently, the refinery took delivery of one (1) million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria as well as globally, trading over 8 million barrels of crude oil per day.

“The STASCO cargo contained 1 million barrels from Agbami and sailed to Dangote Refinery’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) where it was discharged into the refinery’s crude oil tanks,” the refinery said in a statement.

According to Billionaires.Africa, the refinery is projected to bring in an annual revenue of $27 billion at full capacity. The facility has the capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day. Additionally, the refinery aims to produce up to 53 million liters of gasoline per day, as well as 4 million liters of diesel and 2 million liters of aviation jet fuel daily.

Per Forbes, Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has a net worth of $12.7 billion while Bloomberg puts his net worth at 19.0 billion. 

He makes his money largely from Dangote Cement, one of Africa’s most successful and recognizable brands. His cement factory can produce 48.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.