KEY POINTS
- The Dangote Refinery in Lagos leads Africa with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
- Africa spends between $60 billion and $90 billion annually on petroleum imports despite vast crude reserves.
- Algeria’s Skikda refinery and Egypt’s upgraded Mostorod complex are the continent’s second and third largest facilities.
Africa sits on between 7 and 8 percent of the world’s proven crude oil reserves. It still spends up to $90 billion a year importing refined fuel. That gap is the defining story of the continent’s downstream oil sector, and in 2026, it is starting to close.
Total refinery capacity across Africa sits between 3.5 and 4 million barrels per day. But utilization rates in several countries remain below 50 percent. The result is a continent that exports crude and reimports it as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, at significant cost. African petroleum demand is growing at 2 to 3 percent annually. The pressure to fix this is no longer theoretical.
The Dangote Refinery changes the math
At the top of Africa’s refinery rankings in 2026 sits the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos. With a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, it is the largest single-train refinery in the world. Built at a cost of approximately $20 billion, the Dangote complex processes crude into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and petrochemicals. It is already exporting gasoline to the United States and is positioned to supply refined products across West Africa and beyond.
Below Dangote, Algeria’s Sonatrach-operated Skikda refinery holds the second position with approximately 350,000 barrels per day of capacity. Located on Algeria’s Mediterranean coast, Skikda supplies domestic demand and exports to Europe. Libya’s Ras Lanuf facility, with a capacity of around 220,000 barrels per day, ranks third.
Egypt and South Africa round out the rankings
Egypt holds multiple positions in the top ten. The Mostorod refinery north of Cairo, upgraded through a $4.3 billion investment by the Egyptian Refining Company, processes up to 161,000 barrels per day, producing Euro V diesel, jet fuel and high-octane gasoline. The Alexandria MIDOR refinery adds approximately 160,000 barrels per day. Egypt’s El Nasr facility contributes around 131,000 barrels per day.
South Africa’s Sasol system, which combines conventional crude processing at the Natref refinery in Sasolburg with coal-to-liquids technology at the Secunda complex, delivers over 250,000 barrels per day in combined fuel output. Together, the assets supply a significant share of South Africa’s domestic transport fuel.
Nigeria’s government-owned Port Harcourt Refining Company complex, with a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day across two plants, also features in the rankings. The Kaduna refinery at 110,000 barrels per day completes Nigeria’s entry, though its actual output has consistently run below nameplate capacity due to aging infrastructure.
The rankings reflect where Africa’s downstream sector stands. Dangote has shifted what is possible. The rest of the continent is watching, and in some cases, building.
