Fire guts section of Dangote Refinery 3 days after blaming IOCs for crude shortage
A fire incident occurred at a section of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Wednesday, June 26th. According to Anthony Chiejina, the Group’s Chief branding and Communications Manager, the fire broke out at the effluent treatment plant (ETP) but has since been contained.
An ETP is a specialized facility designed to purify industrial wastewater, ensuring that it is safe for release into the environment. Chiejina assured that the outbreak was a minor incident and that the situation was quickly brought under control.
“We have swiftly contained a minor fire incident at our effluent treatment plant (ETP) today, Wednesday, June 26,” the statement signed by Chiejina reads. “There is no cause for alarm as the refinery is operating and there is no recorded injury or harm to any of our staff on duty.”
Dangote Refinery blames IOCs for crude shortage
The refinery, which started production of diesel and aviation fuel on January 12, 2024, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). The refinery was officially inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.
The refinery, which aims to revolutionize the refining sector in West Africa, has been obtaining crude from both Nigeria’s state-owned NNPC and IOCs since it commenced production in January. However, it claims to have encountered increasing resistance in sourcing supplies for its operations.
Speaking to S&P Global Commodity Insights June 24, Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of oil and gas at Dangote Industries, said that IOCs active in Nigeria had been offering crude oil to the refinery at a premium of over $6/b to market price.
“The IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude. They are either asking for ridiculous/humongous premium[s], or they simply state that crude is not available,” he told Nigerian news outlets June 23, blaming the crude shortage for the refinery’s failure to reach higher run rates.
