The management of Dangote Refinery has confirmed receiving the maiden one million barrels crude cargo.

The crude was discharged at the refinery’s terminal on Thursday.

In a statement on Friday, Dangote said the development was a step towards boosting Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity and attaining energy security.

The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, described the development as a significant milestone.

He said, “This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects. Our focus over the coming months is to ramp up the refinery to its full capacity. I look forward to the next significant milestone when we deliver the first batch of products to the Nigerian market.”

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According to the statement, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant “Purchased one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited, one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria as well as globally, trading over eight million barrels of crude oil per day.

“The STASCO cargo contained one million barrels from Agbami and sailed to Dangote Refinery’s Single Point Mooring where it was discharged into the refinery’s crude oil tanks.”

The maiden one million barrels, which represented the first phase of the six million barrels of crude oil to be supplied to Dangote Petroleum Refinery by a range of suppliers, should sustain the initial 350,000 barrels per day to be processed by the facility, statement added.

It said the next four cargoes would be supplied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in two to three weeks, and the final of the six cargoes would be supplied by ExxonMobil.

The supply would facilitate the initial run of the refinery, as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG before subsequently progressing to the production of Premium Motor Spirit.

“This latest development will play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria as well as the West African countries,” the company added.