Algeria is coming to help Dangote Refinery: “Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has acquired its first cargo of Algeria’s light sweet Saharan Blend crude, according to market sources cited by Argus Media, a global energy market intelligence provider. The refinery, Africa’s largest, secured 1 million barrels from trading firm Glencore, expected to be delivered between March 15 and 20. While neither party confirmed the deal or disclosed its price, this purchase marks a significant step for the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery, which has been grappling with local crude supply shortages.”
Despite the Nigerian government’s earlier assurances to supply the refinery with sufficient domestic crude, Dangote has struggled to secure the requested 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) from local producers. So far, only 420,000 bpd of crude oil has been delivered to the refinery’s Lekki site this year, with 87% of this volume sourced from Nigeria, according to Vortexa data.
The refinery, which cost about $20 billion to build, aims to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel and meet local demand. However, the persistent local crude supply challenges have forced it to look beyond Nigeria’s borders. The imported Saharan Blend crude, known for its light sweet quality, is competitively priced compared to Nigerian grades, aligning well with the refinery’s processing requirements.
Who would have thought that access to crude oil will turn out to be a major risk vector for Dangote Refinery? Wonders shall never stop happening. I hope he does not relocate the refinery to Algeria!!! Lol.
In the Igbo Nation, the elders will say “agwa ogbenye ihe eji abu ogaranya, osi ka ya buru ogbenye ya bu [when you tell the poor what to do to become rich and wealth, they would likely prefer to remain poor] because while most want to be rich, not many will be open to pay the price. For Aliko Dangote with his cement, farms, etc thriving, this refinery business is turning out to be a big headache in a country where all demons have sworn that Nigeria will never have ENERGY independence and that means no industrialization.
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