Nigeria's Dangote refinery receives first crude cargo

The Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria received its first cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil from Shell International Trading and Shipping Co, bringing the start of operations closer after years of delays, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Once fully running, the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery funded by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote will turn oil powerhouse Nigeria into a net exporter of fuels, a long-sought goal for the OPEC member that almost totally relies on imports.

Dangote Group said in a statement seen by Reuters on Friday that the cargo of 1 million barrels of crude from Agbami - a deep water field run by Chevron - was the first of 6 million barrels that would enable an initial run of the refinery.

That will kick-start output of diesel, aviation fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, before the refinery later starts producing Premium Motor Spirit. A Dangote Group spokesperson said the STASCO cargo arrived on a chartered vessel and was discharged into the refinery's crude oil tanks.

The next four cargoes will be supplied by state oil firm NNPC in two to three weeks and a final cargo will come from ExxonMobil, Dangote Group's statement said. Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC Ltd signed an agreement in November to supply the Dangote refinery with up to six cargoes of crude starting this month. NNPC has a 20% stake in the refinery.

Despite being Africa's biggest oil producer, Nigeria experiences repeated fuel shortages. It spent $23.3 billion last year on petroleum product imports and consumes around 33 million liters of petrol a day. "Our focus over the coming months is to ramp up the refinery to its full capacity," Dangote was quoted as saying in the statement.

Nigeria commissioned the refinery in May, after it ran years behind schedule. At a cost of $19 billion, the massive petrochemical complex is one of Nigeria's single largest investments.

We remind, Maersk is about to launch the first of its 18 large methanol-enabled vessels currently on order. On 9 February 2024, it will enter service on the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg (see all port calls in the fact box below), with Ningbo, China, being its first destination.

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Maersk is about to launch the first of its 18 large methanol-enabled vessels currently on order. On 9 February 2024, it will enter service on the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg (see all port calls in the fact box below), with Ningbo, China, being its first destination, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The container vessel built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea has a nominal capacity of 16,000 containers (TEU) and is equipped with a dual-fuel engine enabling operations on methanol as well as biodiesel and conventional bunker fuel.

Maersk has set a Net-Zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2040 across the entire business and has also set tangible and ambitious near-term targets for 2030 to ensure significant progress. Maersk has secured sufficient green1 methanol to cover the vessel’s maiden voyage and continues to work diligently on 2024-25 sourcing solutions for its methanol-enabled vessel fleet.

“Deploying the first of our large methanol-enabled vessels on one of the world’s largest trade lanes, Asia - Europe, is a landmark in our journey towards our Net-Zero target. With the vessel’s capacity of 16,000 containers, this will make a significant impact in our customers’ efforts to decarbonize their supply chains, and we are looking forward to introducing more methanol-enabled vessels on this and other trades during 2024.”

We remind, Lummus Technology and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation announced a master collaboration agreement to jointly pursue carbon capture projects. Lummus will provide its post-combustion carbon capture technology and Toshiba will provide its advanced amine-based solvents specifically tailored for post-combustion carbon capture and its system design guidelines optimized for Toshiba's solvents.

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Shell sees a $5-B offshore oil investment opportunity in Nigeria and pledged to spend a further $1 B in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports, a presidential spokesperson said on Thursday, citing Shell's director of upstream operations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu held talks with Shell's Zoe Yujnovich in a move to attract capital to Africa's top energy producer, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. Yujnovich was cited as saying Shell has "an imminent $5 billion investment opportunity" in the offshore Bonga North oil project.

"I am really keen to make that investment as soon as possible. We want to continue and build a pipeline of new investments in Nigeria," Yujnovich said. A Shell spokesperson did not immediately respond to calls seeking comments.

Nigeria's oil output has been in decline for years, hobbled by large-scale theft and sabotage. It has picked up in recent months, helped by offshore production that is less prone to attacks. Tinubu pledged to resolve "all investment-related issues" slowing the flow of capital into Nigeria's energy industry.

"There is no bottleneck that is too difficult for us to remove in our determined march toward making Nigeria the African haven for large scale investments," Tinubu was quoted as saying.

We remind, Shell plc subsidiary Shell Gas BV and partners in the Oman LNG LLC venture signed an amended shareholders’ agreement for Oman LNG LLC extending the business beyond 2024.Oman LNG in turn signed various agreements to secure its gas supply until 2034, Shell said in a release Oct. 23.

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Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (“Toshiba”) announced a master collaboration agreement to jointly pursue carbon capture projects, said the company.

Lummus will provide its post-combustion carbon capture technology and Toshiba will provide its advanced amine-based solvents specifically tailored for post-combustion carbon capture and its system design guidelines optimized for Toshiba’s solvents.

“I am excited about our partnership with Toshiba, which expands Lummus’ range of low carbon solutions and aligns with our commitment to lowering emissions for the downstream energy industry,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lummus Technology. “Combining Lummus’ post-combustion carbon capture technology with Toshiba’s highly competitive solvents and technology gives our customers a strong option for CAPEX and OPEX solutions as they advance their carbon capture investments.”

“We are delighted to collaborate with Lummus to introduce our advanced amine-based solvent and CO2 capture solution to a broader audience,” said Shinya Fujitsuka, Senior Vice President of Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation. “Addressing the urgent need for decarbonization is paramount, and I have every confidence that our partnership with Lummus will enable us to make meaningful contributions towards achieving this goal.”

Central to this collaboration is Lummus’ access to Toshiba’s advanced amine-based post-combustion carbon capture solvents and technology that have been used in commercial and demonstration plants in Japan capturing over 600 tons per day of CO2. This access allows Lummus to integrate its technology into project designs, delivering operational excellence and a competitive cost structure for customers. By incorporating Toshiba’s advanced solvents, Lummus can offer clients an OPEX-competitive solution, characterized by lower specific energy consumption per ton of CO2 absorbed, higher solvent stability against degradation and reduced amine emissions.

We remind, Lummus Technology announced it has signed a Strategic Supply Agreement with NET Power Inc. to design and supply recuperative heat exchangers for NET Power's near-zero emissions power generation process.
The HXR recovers energy from the turboexpander exhaust and air separation unit to reheat recirculated CO2, making it one of the most important equipment components in the NET Power Cycle.

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ABS issued an approval in principle to Lemissoler Navigation for its design of a 65K DWT methanol-fueled Ultramax bulk carrier, the first such methanol vessel for China’s shipbuilding industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Lem65ePlus-SDARI Methanol design, a joint development of Lemissoler and SDARI explores the feasibility of using methanol as fuel to reduce carbon emissions to reach the IMO’s net-zero target by 2050. With the implementation of EU ETS and FuelEU regulations, the vessel, when burning green methanol will have a high potential to reduce carbon emissions-related costs. The vessel has been thoroughly optimized and its preliminary Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) was reviewed and indicated that it exceeds well EEDI Phase 3 standards. ABS completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.

“Methanol is a promising fuel source to reduce shipping emissions, and this new design from Lemissoler is an exciting opportunity for China shipbuilding to show leadership once again in the decarbonization of our industry. ABS is proud to support these innovative projects, sharing our industry-leading guidance to assist owners and shipyards with services and solutions regarding alternative fuels,” said Vassilios Kroustallis, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Business Development.

”We at Lemissoler are once again pioneering new technological and innovative designs for our Dry Bulk fleet. The collaboration with SDARI and ABS is proof of how much can be achieved collectively. This new evolution design is another step toward Lemissoler’s target to become net zero by 2045,” said Philippos Philis, Chairman and CEO of Lemissoler Navigation.

We remind, Lummus Technology and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation announced a master collaboration agreement to jointly pursue carbon capture projects. Lummus will provide its post-combustion carbon capture technology and Toshiba will provide its advanced amine-based solvents specifically tailored for post-combustion carbon capture and its system design guidelines optimized for Toshiba's solvents.

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