Nigeria’s new $19 billion Dangote oil refinery has received 1 million barrels of oil from Shell International Trading and Shipping, its second crude cargo this month, as it steps up preparations to begin operations, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The refinery is years behind schedule but its operations are expected to turn Africa’s largest oil producer into a net exporter of fuels, a long-sought goal for the OPEC member that almost totally relies on imports.

A Dangote spokesperson declined to say where the crude had come from but said the cargo would be discharged at the refinery outside Lagos on Wednesday.

Dangote has said it expects more cargoes to be supplied by state oil firm NNPC Ltd this month as well as one from ExxonMobil.

Nigeria’s OPEC oil quota for next year is 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) but the government says it plans to produce 1.8 million bpd to ensure supplies to the Dangote plant and state-owned refineries that are being upgraded.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)