Updated

Updated · Business Insider Africa · Jul 23

Dangote Refinery Cuts Processing to 350,000-400,000 bpd as Maintenance Drags Exports to 3-Month Low

Updated

Updated · Business Insider Africa · Jul 23

Dangote Refinery Cuts Processing to 350,000-400,000 bpd as Maintenance Drags Exports to 3-Month Low

Q: What really caused the massive drop in Dangote's gasoline exports months before the latest shutdown was even announced?

The big drop was driven mainly by earlier trouble in Dangote’s key gasoline-making unit, not by the July shutdown itself. Months before the Flue Gas Steam Generator maintenance was announced, the refinery’s Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit, or RFCCU, had already been operating at sharply reduced rates. Industry monitors said the RFCCU cut runs by about 34% from around May 21. The immediate causes were a crude slate mismatch and a mechanical fault in a flue-gas slide-gate valve. The refinery was processing crudes that were too light, leaving too little heavy residue to feed the RFCCU properly. Then the valve problem further constrained the unit. That matters because the RFCCU is the core petrol-producing system. Once it slowed, gasoline exports fell quickly—from about 81,000 barrels per day in April to roughly 17,000 bpd in May and around 10,000 bpd in June, according to Kpler and IIR-linked reporting. In other words, the export collapse began well before the later FGSG-related maintenance reduced overall crude throughput in July. Other factors appear to have reinforced the decline. Some reports indicate Dangote also redirected available petrol toward Nigeria’s domestic market, where it had become the dominant supplier, and Nigeria’s imports rose to fill supply gaps during the maintenance window. But the central operational cause of the earlier export slump was the RFCCU disruption, triggered by feedstock imbalance and the slide-gate valve fault.

1 articles · Updated · Business Insider Africa · Jul 23

Kpler says Dangote has run at 350,000-400,000 barrels per day since July 10, roughly half its crude distillation unit throughput, after maintenance disrupted operations.
FGSG work constrained the plant and pushed Kpler to cut its July throughput forecast to about 450,000 bpd from 650,000 bpd, with gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil output all set to fall.
Seaborne exports of petrol, diesel and jet fuel have dropped to their lowest level in three months, reversing part of the refinery’s recent rise as a supplier to Nigeria, Africa and Europe.
June output had neared 700,000 bpd during performance tests, but recurring maintenance every six to 10 weeks still clouds reliability at the 650,000-bpd plant.
Analysts expect repairs to finish in late July and throughput to recover to 650,000-675,000 bpd in August-September, a key test as Dangote prepares for a planned listing after raising $2.5 billion.

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Business Insider Africa1d ago

Dangote Refinery Reduces Crude Processing Due to Maintenance, Cuts Fuel Exports

As Dangote's fuel output plummets due to recurring maintenance, is Nigeria on the brink of another devastating nationwide petrol shortage?

With continuous breakdowns haunting Africa's largest refinery, could these hidden operational flaws threaten Dangote's highly anticipated stock market debut?

What really caused the massive drop in Dangote's gasoline exports months before the latest shutdown was even announced?

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Business Insider Africa1d ago

Dangote Refinery Reduces Crude Processing Due to Maintenance, Cuts Fuel Exports

Dangote Refinery Cuts Processing to 350,000-400,000 bpd as Maintenance Drags Exports to 3-Month Low

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