The Dangote Refinery has been ranked higher than the top ten largest refineries in Europe by Bloomberg, a financial data and media business. The business news platform’s data indicates that the refinery has a larger capacity than many refineries in Europe.
The $20 billion refinery on Lagos State’s Lekki-Epe Expressway has a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels of petroleum products for refinement. According to the report punch correspondent saw on Thursday, this refinery has a capacity of around 246,000 bpd, which is higher than Shell’s Pernis Refinery in the Netherlands
It further stated that the largest refinery in Europe is the Pernis Refinery, with an installed capacity of 404,000bpd. The Netherlands’ BP Rotterdam Refinery can accommodate 380,000 people.
According to Bloomberg, the GOI Energy ISAB Refinery in Italy was constructed with a 360,000bpd refining capability. 338,000 barrels per day can also be refined at the TotalEnergies Antwerp refining facility in Belgium.
Additional refineries included in the paper were the 327,000-bpd Orlen Plock Refinery in Poland, the 310,000-bpd Shell Rheinland Refinery in Germany, the 307,000-bpd ExxonMobil Anterwep Refinery in Belgium, and others.
The Saras Sarroch Refinery in Italy had a capacity of 300,000, while the ExxonMobil Fawley in England had a capacity of 270,000 barrels per day.
According to the Bloomberg report, the Dangote Refinery was using up to a third of its feedstock when it first opened, taking advantage of lower US oil imports. It was dubbed a “game changer.”
Analysts claim that in recent weeks, the refinery has been shipping products while preparing two units to permit the production of gasoline, which will bring about the long-awaited revolution of the fuel market in Nigeria and the surrounding area.
According to oil expert Alan Gelder of Bloomberg, “Dangote is going to influence Atlantic Basin gasoline markets this summer and for the rest of the year.”
Analysts at WoodMac, FGE, and Citac believe that the refinery is currently operating at roughly 300,000 barrels per day, or almost half of its full capacity. The complex is expanding to include a full range of products, and it has begun delivering jet fuel, diesel, and naphtha.
According to a recent Reuters article, the Dangote oil refinery may put an end to a $17 billion annual gasoline trade that has been going on for decades from Europe to Africa.
The Dangote refinery is putting more pressure on European refineries that are already in danger of closing due to increased competition, according to Reuters, which cited analysts and traders.
The refinery will be the largest in both Africa and Europe when it achieves full capacity.
West Africa received more than any other region’s 1.33 million barrels per day average of European gasoline exports in 2023, with Nigeria receiving the majority of those shipments, according to Reuters, which cited Kpler statistics.
Since Dangote Refinery started selling diesel in Nigeria, the price at the pump has dropped from N1,600 to N940 in less than a month.
