Nigeria's Dangote refinery has commenced petrol processing, according to a senior executive from the firm on Monday.

Nigeria's Dangote Oil Refinery has started processing petrol after facing delays due to recent crude oil shortages, an executive announced on Monday.

The $20 billion refinery, located on the outskirts of Lagos and built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, began operations in January with initial outputs including naphtha and jet fuel. With a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, this is Africa's largest refinery and aims to reduce Nigeria's expensive dependency on imported oil products.

Devakumar Edwin, a vice president at Dangote Industries Limited, stated that the refinery is currently testing the petrol and it will soon start being stored in product tanks. However, Edwin did not specify when the petrol would be available in the local market.

According to Edwin, Nigeria's state oil firm, NNPC Ltd, which is the sole importer of petrol in Nigeria, will be the exclusive buyer of this petrol. He also mentioned that if there are no local buyers, the petrol will be exported, similar to how the refinery has been exporting aviation jet fuel and diesel.

The introduction of petrol from Dangote's refinery is expected to alleviate NNPC's challenges in supplying the local market. NNPC is currently struggling with $6 billion in debts owed to oil traders for supplies since January. This financial strain has impacted its ability to provide fuel domestically, resulting in persistent fuel queues since July. Additionally, fuel prices have surged by 45% from the official rate of 617 naira ($0.3942) set after subsidies were removed last year.

Clementine Wallop, director of sub-Saharan Africa at political risk consultancy Horizon Engage, highlighted the importance of this development. She noted that the timing of Dangote's petrol processing is critical given NNPC's difficulties with securing imported fuel due to financial issues. Wallop also pointed out the need for greater transparency in NNPC's financial operations.

Despite being Africa's leading oil producer, Nigeria imports nearly all of its fuel due to years of neglect of its national refineries.