AFRICA’S richest man Aliko Dangote has begun expanding his refinery in Lagos from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, targeting to establish the largest refinery in the world ever built at a single site in 2028.
Speaking about his expansion plan on Sunday, President of Dangote Group said the expansion reflected his group’s belief in Africa’s potential and its commitment to building energy independence for the continent.
“We are expanding the Dangote Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. When completed, this will be the largest refinery ever built at a single site, surpassing India’s Jamnagar refinery,” he said.
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The Jamnagar refinery, owned by Reliance Industries, is located in Gujarat, India. It was commissioned in July 1999 with a capacity of 668,000 barrels per day. The refinery now has a capability of 1.240 million barrels per day, making it the largest refinery in the world, according to Sterling Thermal Technology.
Mr Dangote wants to exceed the capacity of Jamnagar refinery and plans to complete the expansion within three years. He said the construction would tap existing infrastructure such as ports, land, and logistics systems established during the refinery’s first phase.
“It will take much less time this round because we already have the foundation — the port, the land, the pipelines,” Dangote said. “We know where all the challenges lie from experience.”
Africa’s richest man noted that the refinery would be so sophisticated that at least one line would always be on.
“Even if you shut down one line for 40 days, the other keeps running at 50 percent capacity,” Dangote disclosed, noting that sourcing crude was a major problem for his refinery, as some local producers often preferred exporting it after production than supplying to a local refinery. But he acknowledged that government policy had helped to curb the practice.
“At 650,000 barrels a day, you can struggle for feedstock. But the President’s policy is clear; we cannot keep exporting crude and importing fuel. That must change.”
The expansion will create more than 65,000 jobs during the construction phase and drive output from the petrochemical complex. Polypropylene production will double from 900,000 metric tonnes to 2.4 million tonnes annually, he said, while fuel quality would be upgraded from Euro 5 to Euro 6 standards, placing it among the cleanest globally.
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“Over 85 percent of our workforce will be Nigerian. We’re building not just infrastructure but human capital. Our goal is to refine opportunities for our people,” he noted.
He said the refinery’s power generation capacity would be expanded from 500 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts to ensure uninterrupted operations and potentially supply nearby industrial users.
Dangote invited other investors to join the federal government’s effort to expand local refining, noting that competition would ease supply constraints.“We don’t want to be the only player,” he said. “There are people with more cash than we have. They should go and buy or build refineries so no one talks about monopoly.”
He disclosed that several companies were already in discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to revive dormant refineries through joint ventures.
“A $1 trillion economy doesn’t come easy. Everyone must play their part. We are doing ours,” he stressed.
NGX listing
Dangote further revealed that the refinery and petrochemical complex would list on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) by 2026, allowing Nigerians to invest directly in the nation’s most ambitious industrial project.
“We want Nigerians to own part of this refinery. It should belong to the people whose oil it refines.”
Mr Dangote said, “For the first time in decades, Nigerians can approach the festive season without fuel scarcity. We’ve had stable prices and consistent quality since production began.”
