Dangote Refinery has assured that refined products, specifically diesel and aviation fuel, will be in the market this month of January 2024.
The $20 billion refinery has capacity to load 2,900 trucks a day.
President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, made the announcement on the heels of the successful delivery of about six million barrels of crude oil to the 650,000 barrels-per-day plant in the past few weeks.
He said: “We thank President Bola Tinubu for his support and for making our dream come true.
“This production, as witnessed today, would not have been possible without his visionary leadership and prompt attention to detail. His intervention at various stages cleared all impediments, thereby accelerating the actualisation of the project.
“We also thank the NNPC, NUPRC, and NMDPRA for their support. These organisations have been our dependable partners in this historic journey.
“We also thank Nigerians for their belief and support in this project. We have started the production of diesel and aviation fuel, and the products will be in the market within this month, once we receive regulatory approvals.
“This is a big day for Nigeria. We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone. This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects.
“This is a game changer for our country, and I am very fulfilled with the actualisation of this project.
“I must extend our sincere appreciation to our bankers and financiers, both local and offshore.
“They demonstrated a great deal of patience, in seeing us through many difficult times.
“In the same vein, we thank the government of Lagos State, under the leadership of Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“He has been incredibly proactive in ensuring that the many challenges we encountered in the course of executing this project were quickly resolved.
“I also sincerely thank our host communities and their traditional leaders for their sustained patience, forbearance, and admirable willingness to work with us to find amicable and win-win resolutions to the many issues we have had to deal with as the construction of this huge facility progressed.
“Our staff has also contributed so immensely to the success of this project. I thank them profusely.”
Dangote Refinery is designed for 100% Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes. It can process most African crude grades, Middle Eastern Arab Light, US Light tight oil as well as crude from other countries.