Dangote Refinery World’s Largest Atmospheric Tower For Processing Crude Oil Leaves China For Nigeria

Dangote's World’s Largest Atmospheric Tower 

Nigerians woke up to see the news of Dangote's refinery trending on the social media early this week and this is because World’s largest atmospheric tower that's leaving China to Nigeria.

A piece of equipment, atmospheric tower, that will process crude oil for Nigeria’s Dangote refinery set sail on Monday from China to Lagos - According to the manufacturer, the tower is the largest in the world and will likely take at least a month to reach Lagos

Dangote Refinery planned to be producing 650,000 barrel per day (BPD) is set to be Africa’s largest World’s largest atmospheric tower built for Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has left the port in China en-route to Nigeria, according to the manufacturer, Sinopec, China’s leading energy and chemical company.

Sinopec, on Monday, July 29, made this known on its verified Twitter handle, sharing photos of the tower. “On July 29, the world’s largest atmospheric tower built by Sinopec slowly left a wharf in Ningbo. Following the Maritime #SilkRoad, it will travel to #Nigeria and be installed at the world’s biggest single-train facility Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery,” the tweet reads.

On July 29, the world's largest atmospheric tower built by Sinopec slowly left a wharf in Ningbo. Following the Maritime #SilkRoad, it will travel to #Nigeria and be installed at the world’s biggest single-train facility - Nigeria's Dangote Refinery. pic.twitter.com/8zBJesejn1

— Sinopec (@SinopecNews) July 29, 2019

The piece of equipment is designed to process crude oil for Dangote refinery.

For the type of refinery, Dangote Group is building, the atmospheric tower is the primary unit processing crude oil into fuels, Citac analyst Jeremy Parker told Reuters, adding that it will likely take at least a month to reach Lagos. The refinery which is planned to be producing 650,000 barrel per day (BPD) is set to be Africa’s largest, with the potential to transform Nigeria from being an importer of fuel to a net exporter.

The refinery is situated on a 6,180 acres (2,500 hectares) site at the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos.

Recall that Aliko Dangote in 2018 disclosed that he planned to complete the $12-14 billion refinery project in 2019, with additional plans to start production in early 2020.

According to Citac's projection, the refinery will start producing fuels in 2023.