The Dangote refinery has officially started building work to expand the plant from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, made the announcement at a press conference in Lagos on Sunday.
Dangote stated this will make the refinery the biggest in the world, with his buddy Mr. Femi Otedola, the Chairman of First Bank, by his side.
Dangote added that the corporation had made a deal with the company that owns the technology that will make the facility bigger.
“We are increasing the capacity of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.” He remarked, “When it’s done, it will be the biggest refinery in the world, bigger than the Jamnagar Refinery in India.”
He said that the expansion would be done in the following three years.
The billionaire businessman thanked President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government for their ongoing support and dedication to Nigeria’s industrial progress.
He also praised the president for making policies that help industrialization, like the Nigeria First policy, the Naira-for-crude policy, and the One-stop Shop. These policies have reportedly brought “great revolution to the downstream sector,” which has given the group the confidence to make this major policy change to ensure that all of our crude is processed domestically and only finished petroleum products are exported.
Even though there is a shortage of crude oil right now, Dangote was hopeful that the Federal Government will make it available to the single-train refinery.
He remembered that the Federal Government had a big role in resolving recent problems at the refinery that were caused by union actions and “sabotage attempts.”
He said that the company’s decision to expand showed that it believed in Nigeria’s future, Africa’s potential, and its promise to make Africa and the globe energy independent.
“It’s also about having faith in Nigeria, Africa, and our ability to shape our own energy future.”
President Bola Tinubu wants Nigeria to become one of the world’s top producers of oil and gas products. “And with his strong support through policies we’ve already talked about, we’re taking on the challenge to make this happen,” he said.
The richest man in Africa said that the development was a means to meet expanding demand in the region, cut down on the country’s reliance on imports, save billions in foreign currency, and make Nigeria’s energy supply more secure.
He also said that 65,000 people will be needed for the building project, and 85 percent of them would be Nigerians.
Dangote also said that the refinery would increase its electricity generation from 500 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts. He had inked a deal with the technology licensor, which will make it bigger.
“We would need 65,000 people during construction for this expansion. Such a project will open up even more prospects for local businesses. We will also be increasing our production of polypropylene from 900,000 metric tons to 2.4 million metric tons per year. This will make the manufacturing of linear alkylbenzene, an important part of making detergents, much better, as well as the extra production of base oils.
“With this development, the refinery will switch from making Euro V to Euro VI fuel standards, which are the highest environmental standards in the world. It will also double its power generation capacity, making it fully self-sufficient. He highlighted that more than 85% of our workers will be Nigerian, and we will continue to invest in skills and technology transfer.
Dangote wants to put 10% of the refinery’s shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange within the next year. He says this is a move toward more ownership and market openness.
“Because of this, we ask all Nigerians to take advantage of this chance and make the most of it.” He said, “Our long-term goal is still clear: to build Africa’s first integrated energy and petrochemical hub, which will be the best in the world.”
Dangote told Nigerians that there would be enough fuel as Christmas approaches.
“As we get closer to the end of the year, Nigerians often have trouble getting gas, have to wait in long lines, and see prices go up for no reason, which makes things hard for both travelers and businesses.” The price of oil around the world has gone up by 8% in the last three days.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the Dangote refinery is completely dedicated to providing an uninterrupted supply of petrol throughout the festive period. He went on to say, “Our goal is to make sure that products flow steadily at stable prices, putting an end to the problems and exploitation that have become common during the ember months.”
The industrialist told the “holders of the other 30 refinery licenses” to take advantage of this chance to help Mr. President’s goal of making Nigeria the refining center of the continent.
The Dangote refinery opened in 2024, which greatly reduced Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel for several years.
Nigeria is now a fuel exporter to many countries across the world, such as the United States and Saudi Arabia.
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