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Dangote Refinery in crude supply negotiations with Libya

Published

4 months ago

July 21, 2024

To get around issues with local supply, Nigeria’s Dangote refinery is in negotiations with Libya to get crude for the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant. A senior official stated that the refinery would also look for Angolan oil.

The $20 billion refinery, the largest in Africa, was constructed on the outskirts of Lagos by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Its purpose is to eliminate Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuels due to inadequate refining capacity.

Since starting operations in January, Dangote has not been able to obtain sufficient crude supplies from Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, beset by poor investment, theft, and pipeline vandalism. Dangote has had to buy petroleum from the US and Brazil, among other places.

“We are talking to Libya about importing crude,” Dangote refinery senior executive Devakumar Edwin told Reuters late on Saturday. “We will talk to Angola and some other African countries.”

He added that foreign traders and oil corporations were among the largest purchasers of Dangote’s gasoil, which was mostly being exported, but he would not elaborate on the specifics of the discussions.

“The biggest off-takers are the two big traders Trafigura and Vitol and BP and, to some extent, even TotalEnergies. But all of them are saying they are taking it to offshore,” Edwin said.

According to traders and shipping statistics, Dangote is displacing European refiners in the gasoil market by increasing exports to West Africa.

By 2050, the nuclear sector wants to treble its capacity.

According to Edwin, Dangote’s oil trading division was running, employing people in Lagos and London to assist with product sales and supply management. The intended trading arm was initially revealed by Reuters in March.

In a recent dispute with Dangote, Nigeria’s upstream authority claimed that the fuel’s sulphur concentration exceeded the mandated 200 parts per million (ppm). Rejecting that claim, Aliko Dangote stated that sulfur levels had been higher at the beginning of production but have since dropped to 88 parts per million (ppm) and would reach 10 parts per million in early August as output increases.

Related Topics:DANGOTE REFINERY Featured Nigeria

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

17 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.