Dangote dismisses pipeline delivery of fuel

The oil refinery being built by Dangote Group will deliver its fuel to Nigerian consumers by road and seaports, and will effectively replace all of the country’s fuel imports once fully operational, an executive of the company has said.

The refinery, which is under construction in Lagos, will be able to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that congested ports and dilapidated roads led some to expect that the company would build a pipeline or other method of getting its fuel to consumers.

Reuters quoted Devakumar Edwin, Dangote group executive director, as saying at the Oil Trading and Logistics Expo in Lagos on Tuesday that the fuel would go via “shuttle” boats to Warri and Calabar, and that other deliveries would go in trucks.

According to him, the company is fixing and expanding one of the current roads to Lekki while the Lagos State Government will build another toll road to aid the shipment.

“That’s going to reduce a lot of congestion,” he was quoted as saying of their plans.

He said the refinery would virtually eliminate fuel imports from other regions, adding that “those who are importing today… can buy from our refinery”.

Reuters recalled that Dangote had previously said the refinery’s mechanical completion was delayed until 2020. The news agency, however, quoted industry sources as saying last year that fuel output was unlikely before 2022.

Dangote refinery is also constructing facilities that will allow it to export its diesel, petrol and other fuels to markets including Europe and Latin America aboard vessels as large as Suezmax tankers.

It is also designed to be able to produce diesel that meets European winter standards, and will be high quality enough to go to any market.

“We can export the product all over the world. So there is no need for us to (blindly) compete with the local production,” Edwin said.