The Dangote Group on Wednesday, April 22, began upstream oil production, with early output already coming from its Niger Delta assets as the company gets closer to supplying its refinery with its own crude.
The Kalaekule oil field is a shallow-water conventional oil development located in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, specifically within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 72, operated by West African Exploration and Production (WAEP), a company affiliated with the Dangote Group.
It began producing approximately 4,500 barrels per day in April 2026, with expectations to reach 15,000 barrels soon.
The company holds an 85 percent stake in the operation, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the remaining share.
This development follows previous challenges faced by the Dangote refinery in securing a steady supply of crude oil, particularly during disputes with NNPC over pricing arrangements.
Devakumar Edwin, vice president of Dangote Group’s oil and gas division, said preliminary testing is underway, with full-scale production expected to commence in the coming weeks.
He added that drilling activities are intensifying, with additional rigs already secured to support expansion.
Olajumoke Ajayi, head of the upstream joint venture West African E&P, stated that production could reach 15,000 bpd within a month as operations stabilize.
The company also projects output to rise to 40,000 bpd in the near future.
The Kalaekule field, located under OML 72, is part of the assets where oil was first discovered in the 1960s.
Production peaked in the late 1990s before declining in the early 2000s.
The fields were later acquired in 2015, paving the way for renewed development.
Dangote’s expansion into crude oil production is both strategic and necessary, as the refinery has previously faced supply constraints.
At one point, crude pricing in foreign currency made imports more competitive than the domestic supply.
Earlier projections indicated that Dangote planned to begin crude production by late 2025, after initially targeting the fourth quarter of 2024.
The move followed a prolonged supply dispute with NNPC.
However, the refinery recently confirmed receiving its largest crude shipment to date from NNPC, following the delivery of ten cargoes in March.
Comments