KEY POINTS
- Dangote has completed basic engineering for its expansion.
- Refining capacity is planned to rise to 1.4 million bpd by 2029.
- Expansion will also boost polypropylene and other petrochemical output.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has completed the basic engineering work for the next phase of its expansion, putting the company on course to raise the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
The refinery currently operates at about 700,000 barrels per day, after exceeding its original design capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
Devakumar Edwin, Group Vice President, Oil and Gas and Fertiliser at Dangote Industries Limited, disclosed the development during a tour of the refinery by journalists in Lagos.
Edwin said almost all detailed engineering work had also been completed, while most of the equipment required for the expansion had been ordered. He added that major contracts had been signed and advance payments made to contractors.
“We are targeting for three years, and probably we may be even doing faster,” Edwin said.
The planned expansion will add about 750,000 barrels per day of refining capacity, taking total capacity to approximately 1.4 million barrels per day.
Existing infrastructure to lower expansion costs
Edwin said the second phase of the project is expected to cost slightly less than the initial development because much of the supporting infrastructure is already in place.
These facilities include the company’s quarry, welding-gas plant, port infrastructure and developed land within the refinery complex.
He said the company was also negotiating lower engineering and design costs because significant parts of the expansion would replicate existing facilities.
Additional petrochemical units, however, are expected to increase the overall cost of the project.
The expansion is expected to include increased production of polypropylene, linear alkyl benzene and base oil. Polypropylene production is planned to rise from about 900,000 tonnes per year to 2.4 million tonnes annually.
Edwin said the refinery was designed to process a broad range of crude grades, including most African crude varieties and US West Texas Intermediate.
The flexibility is intended to reduce the refinery’s dependence on Nigerian crude, particularly at a time when the company has repeatedly raised concerns about insufficient domestic crude supplies.
According to Edwin, some Nigerian crude had already been committed under existing supply arrangements, making the ability to process alternative grades important to the refinery’s operations.
The planned 750,000 barrels per day expansion will also retain this flexibility, allowing the additional processing units to handle different crude types.
