Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery is gearing up for a massive expansion that will boost its crude oil processing capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, an upgrade that will make it the largest refinery on the planet, overtaking India’s Jamnagar Refinery once completed.
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, disclosed the plan during a press briefing in Lagos on Sunday. “We are more than doubling the barrels… to 1.4 million from 650,000,” Dangote said. “This will make it the largest refinery in the world, surpassing India’s Jamnagar Refinery,” he added.
The billionaire industrialist, who recently became the first African to reach the $30 billion milestone, on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, confirmed that a deal has already been finalized to kickstart the refinery’s upgrade.
The expansion is projected to create approximately 65,000 jobs during construction while strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base through deeper economic linkages. It will also significantly boost petrochemical production, with polypropylene capacity increasing from 900,000 to 2.4 million metric tonnes annually. This improvement will enhance the availability of key industrial inputs such as linear alkylbenzene used in detergents and base oils for lubricants, according to Business Insider Africa.
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As part of its modernization drive, the refinery will adopt Euro VI fuel standards, placing Nigeria among global leaders in clean fuel production, and expand its power generation capacity to operate fully independent of the national grid.
Dangote emphasized that over 85% of the workforce involved in the expansion will be Nigerian, a move aimed at promoting local skill development and technology transfer. The project, he noted, will have lasting impacts on job creation, power infrastructure, and industrial growth.
He also revealed plans to list 10% of Dangote Refinery & Petrochemical shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange within the next year, giving local investors a chance to own part of one of Africa’s most significant industrial ventures.
With the holiday season approaching, Dangote assured Nigerians that the refinery will help maintain a consistent fuel supply despite global price pressures. He expressed hope that this would ensure a December “free of queues and panic at filling stations.”
Urging holders of the remaining 30 refinery licences in Nigeria to fast-track their projects, Dangote stressed the importance of energy self-sufficiency for the continent’s progress. “When Africa builds its own capacity, it builds its own destiny,” he said.
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Image Credit: Peoples Gazette
