David Bird, Managing Director of the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery, on Wednesday, clarified that the facility is not importing finished petroleum products, but rather intermediate feedstocks as part of its merchant refining model.
Speaking to journalists during a technical briefing at the refinery in Lekki, Lagos, Bird explained that the refinery was deliberately designed to operate differently from conventional refineries in crude-producing nations. Unlike refineries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or the UAE that rely heavily on domestic crude pipelines, Dangote Refinery sources crude and feedstocks globally, delivered by sea, to ensure flexibility and efficiency.
“A merchant refinery sources crude oils and other feedstocks from the global market. You bring in different crudes, segregate them, and blend them into cocktails that the plant can process,” Bird said. He noted that the refinery’s large tank farm is central to this model, enabling storage, blending, and processing of diverse crude streams.
Bird emphasized that refining is capital-intensive, and maximising utilisation across all units is critical. He explained that the real value lies not in crude distillation alone but in advanced conversion units that transform low-value residues into high-value fuels. For instance, the refinery uses a Residue Fluidised Catalytic Cracker to convert heavy residues into premium white products. When certain crudes yield less residue, the refinery imports additional feedstocks to keep conversion units fully operational.
Addressing concerns about imports, Bird stressed: “I am a refinery. I have no interest in importing finished products. But I will be importing intermediate feedstocks and components.” He added that some imported materials, such as high-sulphur reformate, are unsuitable for direct use but can be upgraded into Euro 5 specification gasoline. Similarly, locally produced condensates with low octane ratings require further processing before they can be used in vehicles.
The refinery is currently producing petrol with 50 parts per million sulphur content and is ready to move to 10 ppm once Nigeria’s fuel standards are updated. Bird highlighted that all products meet global specifications and can be exported worldwide. “If we couldn’t make this product to the right specification, we wouldn’t be able to export it,” he said, noting that the refinery has already shipped gasoline to the United States and aviation fuel to international markets.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to take pride in the refinery’s ability to produce cleaner fuels, stressing that higher fuel standards will deliver significant public health benefits. “Nigeria should be incredibly proud because of the public health benefits that come from having a domestic refining industry that produces fuels to the latest world standards,” Bird added.
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