KEY POINTS
- Dangote plans to double refinery capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, overtaking India’s Jamnagar plant.
- The company secured a $4 billion loan and is preparing to list up to 10% of its refinery shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
- The expansion will deepen petrochemical output and cement Nigeria’s position as a regional energy powerhouse.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed plans to double the capacity of his $20 billion oil refinery in Lagos to 1.4 million barrels per day, a move that would make it the largest refining complex in the world.
In an interview with S&P Global, the Nigerian industrialist said the expansion will build on the existing 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) operation at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals complex in the Lekki Free Zone.
Once complete, it would surpass India’s Jamnagar refinery, which currently holds the title as the world’s largest, with a capacity of 1.36 million bpd.
Dangote also confirmed that the company is exploring new financing opportunities and partnerships, particularly with investors from the Middle East, to support the massive expansion.
Expansion Designed Into the Blueprint
Engineers working at the Lekki site told S&P Global that the facility was originally built with space to accommodate a second refining system, making expansion relatively seamless. “Empty concrete plots were intentionally left for additional units,” one senior engineer reportedly said.
This new plan marks a step up from an earlier target announced in July, when Dangote said the refinery’s output would rise to 700,000 bpd by the end of 2025.
The billionaire now envisions an integrated complex capable of processing 1.4 million barrels a day, alongside an expanded petrochemical arm producing more linear alkylbenzene, base oils, and polypropylene.
He disclosed that annual polypropylene production would increase from one million to 1.5 million metric tonnes, while the company continues to generate twice the power it consumes, a key advantage in Nigeria’s erratic power landscape.
