Dangote Refinery has started plans to construct storage tanks in Namibia to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel to supply refined fuel to the southern Africa market.
According to a Reuters report, the move underscores the refinery’s ambition to dominate fuel supply in Africa and beyond.
Dangote Refinery has already started exporting petrol and other fuels to other West African countries and this could help boost access to refined products for southern African nations.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery started operations last year and has been ramping up production and seeking new markets.
The sources cited in the report disclosed that the storage tanks would be used to supply petrol and diesel to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The publication also said the company is also considering supplying fuel to southern Democratic Republic of Congo,
The construction of the storage tanks would begin shortly in the port city of Walvis.
A Namibia Ports Authority official confirmed the plans and said the storage tanks would be housed within the Walvis Bay harbour.
Last month, a 90,000 metric tonnes Dangote petrol cargo was sent to Asia, making the first time the refinery was selling the product outside the West Africa region.
This indicates that the Dangote refinery is now at full capacity as it now able to produce enough to meet demand in Nigeria and export the rest.
This comes as the refinery is expected to rely totally on Nigerian crude by the end of the year.
This development would replace hundreds of thousands of barrels a day of imported oil from the US, Angola, Brazil, and Algeria among others.
According to Mr Devakumar Edwin, vice president at Dangote Industries, the 650,000 barrels per day structure received about half of its crude in June from local producers who will be able to sell more to the facility as their foreign supply obligations end.