The Dangote Refinery, which is the largest single-train refinery in the world, has started operation.

The Refinery owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub began production in the early hours of Friday, January 12, 2024.

Operations began with the delivery of six million barrels of crude supply to the refinery.

Originally planned to have started operations since June 2023, the oil refinery built by Aliko Dangote received its first crude deliveries in a step to starting up the delayed mega project.

The 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote refinery could be a game changer for Nigeria’s economy when fully operational by helping end the country’s reliance on fuel imports.

The initial run will be for the production of diesel and aviation fuel before moving on to petrol output.

Though one of Africa’s largest oil producers and the continent’s top economy, Nigeria relies almost totally on imported fuel and diesel because of a lack of refining capacity.

Fuel imports and subsidies caused a huge drain on foreign exchange when Nigeria was struggling with dwindling oil revenues and foreign currency shortages.

“Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100 percent of  Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also have a surplus of each of these products for export,” the company said in a statement.

The facility sits on 2,635 hectares (6,500 acres) of land at the Lekki Free Zone on the edge of Lagos city and costs an estimated $19bn.

Dangote Refinery’s production could have a significant impact on Nigeria’s economy by reducing the country’s reliance on fuel imports, reducing gasoline prices, and generating electricity and foreign exchange savings.
According to reports from the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the commencement of production at the Dangote Refinery could lead to a reduction of gasoline price by 15%. Nigeria spends N843 billion monthly on gasoline importation, which puts pressure on its scarce dollar as well as poses a serious trigger to its currency problems. With the commencement of the Dangote refinery, freight, logistic costs, shipment, and storage costs would impact the 15% reduction in the price of gasoline for Nigerians, which currently sells at above N630 in most filling station retail outlets.
The Dangote Refinery is expected to generate 12,000 MW of electricity and save Nigeria between $25 and $30 billion in forex annually, whilst also providing the economy with an inflow of around $10 billion yearly.