Dangote Refinery Kickstarts Production for the Sixth Time

The Dangote Group conglomerate has announced its setout to kickstart production of Dangote Refinery for the sixth time.

The 19 billion US dollars investment inaugurated in 22nd of May, 2023 with expectation to produce the capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day has took the public and the investors on a ride of long awaiting. The structural construction of the project commenced in July 2017 and to be completed in 2019 but got pushed down to 2022.

Dangote Refinery’s recorded start time amounted to three times over the past four years leaving investors and commercial loaners (OPM) earnestly clinging to the actual start date.

After the publicly announced inauguration in first quarter of 2023, Dangote Refinery announced its plan to produce gasoline, kerosine, and diesel in September of same year.

It was until September that it became clear that the refinery would not yet be able to start operations due to stalling in supply of crude. However, in July 2022, Dangote had borrowed 187 billion naira (about 442 million USD) at 12.75% resp. 13.5% p.a., which is bond issuance acquired as completion continues to drag.

The production of Diesel and aviation fuel A1 is expected to hit the market in the 2nd week of 2024 but in that same week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an investigation raided the HQ office in Victoria Island, Lagos, on allegations to have acquired forex allocations through the then apex bank governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele in 2014.

Meanwhile, Aliko Dangote claimed in 2013 to have $3 billion to finance the refinery project, of which the project as at 2013 was estimated to cost $9 billion. $3 billion of Dangote Group’s money was invested with the remainder to be acquired through commercial loans (Other Peoples Money).

Nonetheless, the group still stood to promising its production starting dates before the raiding of the anti-graft agency (EFCC), requesting that the conglomerates in a letter sent to the company in first week of December provides the details of foreign exchange allocated by the former CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to the company from 2014 till date.

Dangote Group in all of investors confidence reassurance statement, releases a press release to debunk the perception of fraud investigation that follows the anti-graft agency wherever or whenever raiding or investigations is carried out.

Meanwhile, with the gas flare burning sighted on site, many have misconstrued it for actual refining of crude oil which date is unpredictable at the moment.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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