Several small-scale refinery expansions were announced Oct. 25 at the OTL conference in Lagos, according to ArgusMedia, as Nigeria looks to expand its shortage in refining capacity.

• Nigeria refineries are in crisis amid a severe lack of refining capacity. The 650k b/d Dangote refinery, despite being commissioned in July, has yet to start up
• NNPC is also trying to rehabilitate the 210k b/d Port Harcourt and 125k b/d Warri refineries to 60% and 90% capacity respectively. However, an NNPC source told Argus that there were issues with the number of trained engineers.
• Several companies announced plans to boost their small-scale capacity. Nigerian integrated Aradel Holdings is looking to bring on an 11k b/d capacity refinery. Nigerian integrated oil firm Waltersmith Group also started expansion of its 5k b/d refinery to 10k b/d by 2025, with an ambition to reach 40k b/d, Argus said.
• The US becoming structurally net long in gasoline has boosted the surplus of available road fuels in WAF. Ethanol is set to displace 0.5m b/d of gasoline in the USA while biodiesel will displace 0.3m b/d od diesel in Europe, freeing up barrels for West Africa.