Dangote Refinery expects to rely totally on Nigerian crude by the end of the year, a move that would replace hundreds of thousands of barrels a day of imported oil.
The plant owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, received about half of its crude in June from local producers who will be able to sell more to the facility as their foreign supply obligations end, according to Devakumar Edwin, vice president at Dangote Industries, who oversees the 650,000 barrel-a-day plant outside Lagos.
“We expect some of the long-term contracts will expire,” he said in an interview.
“Personally, and as a company, we expect that before the end of the year we can transition 100% to local crude.”
Since the Dangote facility opened, the company has bought crude from Brazil, Angola, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, according to Edwin. Improved relations between the refinery, local oil traders and the government will result in a steady supply of Nigerian crude, he said.
In June, the Dangote refinery sourced 53% of its crude supply from domestic producers and 47% from the US, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The plant is currently processing 550,000 barrels of crude a day, according to Edwin.
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