By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is expected to supply four crude oil cargoes from its February loading programme to the Dangote refinery, which is set to begin production soon.
According to Reuters, which cited three sources, the Dangote refinery will receive the crude oil cargo next month after the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery located in Lagos got the sixth crude oil cargo of one million barrels on Monday, bringing total volumes received since December to six million barrels.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest producing member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), currently relies on imports for most of the fuel it consumes but the Dangote refinery is expected to make the country self-sufficient.
The country will also be a net exporter able to export fuel to neighbours in West Africa, potentially transforming oil trading in the Atlantic Basin.
NNPC is expected to supply the oil refinery plant with an additional four of the cargoes, two of the sources said, according to Reuters, adding that a spokesperson for NNPC Limited declined to comment.
The refinery will soon kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),
The $19.5 billion oil facility was first scheduled to be completed before 2019, according to the then Minister of Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachukwu, but this was not achieved.
On May 22, 2023, a week before the expiration of the 8-year term of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the oil facility was commissioned, but it could not produce crude oil with billionaire owner, Mr Aliko Dangote saying the first batch of products would be available in August of the same year but to no avail. However, this did not come to fruition as the NNPC was unable to supply the commodity to the refinery.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere