Dangote Oil Refinery has received its first ship call, 'BBC Naples', which is expected to deliver essential equipment for ongoing construction work at the Dangote Refinery. BBC Naples is a 132 metres long, 9,755 tonnes, general cargo ship operated by BB Chartering, while Hull Blyth Nigeria is the ship agent.

        Mr Denis Bandura, Managing Director at BB Chartering Mideast Limited said "today our vessel 'BBC Naples' arrived at the Dangote Lekki Jetty. It is the maiden call at the newly constructed jetty, and BB Chartering is very proud to have partnered with Dangote group to make this milestone a reality".

        He added that “the vessel is delivering essential equipment for the construction of Dangote Oil Refinery, and BB Chartering remains committed to provide its full capacity at a strategic level to ensure the successful delivery of this very important project”.

        Africa’s richest man and owner of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, recently mobilised $4.5 billion for his crude oil refinery project through debt financing. He revealed that leveraging on the World Bank’s private sector arm providing $150 million for the project, would make lenders commit about $3.15 billion. Dangote said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will provide guarantees for about 575 billion Naira in local currency for 10 years, while the African Development Bank will provide a $300 million loan.

        The Dangote Refinery is projected to have a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. It is expected to be the world’s largest single train facility upon completion in 2020.

        The project which is expected to generate 9,500 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs, will help Nigeria save $5 billion on oil importation and also help ensure about $7.5 billion forex savings on importation.