The Dangote Refinery has been ranked higher than the top ten largest refineries in Europe by Bloomberg, a financial data and media company.
The business news platform’s data indicates that the refinery has a larger capacity than many refineries in Europe.The $20 billion refinery in Lagos State’s Lekki-Epe Expressway has a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels of petroleum products for refinement.
According to the report our correspondent saw on Thursday, this refinery has a capacity of over 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 capacity.338,000 barrels per day can also be refined at the TotalEnergies Antwerp refining facility in Belgium.
Additional refineries mentioned in the report included 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 cheaper 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 enable the production of gasoline, which will bring about the long-awaited transformation 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 estimate that the refinery is currently operating at roughly 300,000 barrels per day, or almost half of its nameplate capacity.
The complex is expanding to include a full range of products, and it has begun shipping jet fuel, diesel, and naphtha.According to a recent Reuters report, 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 reaches full capacity.
According to Reuters, which cited Kpler data, nearly one-third of Europe’s 1.33 million barrels per day average gasoline exports in 2023 went to West Africa—a larger portion than any other region—with Nigeria receiving the majority of those exports.
With the introduction of diesel into the Nigerian market by Dangote Refinery, the pump price fell from N1,600 to N940 in less than a month.