The President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has announced a massive expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, vowing to ensure a stable and anxiety-free supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) throughout Nigeria’s festive “ember months.”
Dangote revealed yesterday that the refinery’s capacity will be expanded from its current 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4million bpd over the next three years.
Once completed, the $20 billion facility will surpass India’s Jamnagar Refinery to become the world’s largest single-train refinery, positioning Nigeria as a global refining hub.
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Despite an 8% spike in global oil prices in the last three days, Dangote assured the public that the refinery is fully committed to maintaining an uninterrupted supply of petrol during the Christmas and New Year period, promising Nigerians “a Christmas and New Year free of fuel anxiety.
He emphasised the refinery’s positive impact on stabilising local fuel supply, strengthening the Naira, and preventing capital flight.
While acknowledging that petrol pump prices have recently fluctuated between ₦800 and ₦900 per litre, up from ₦189 per litre in 2023, Dangote noted that Nigeria’s current prices remain among the lowest in the region—roughly half what neighbouring countries pay and even cheaper than in Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, he highlighted that the expansion will transition the refinery to producing Euro VI fuel standards from Euro V, meeting the highest global environmental benchmarks and significantly reducing the dumping of toxic fuels into the local market.
The expansion is driven by growing regional demand for cleaner fuels across Africa and the supportive policy environment in Nigeria.
Dangote projected that the refinery’s revenue could exceed $55 billion annually, making it one of the most valuable industrial assets on the continent.
The project is expected to be financed through a mix of cash flow, a public listing, and strategic investors.
Dangote reaffirmed plans to list a significant portion of the refinery’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) within the next year to democratize ownership and ensure Nigerians benefit from the value creation.
“Our main listing will be here in Nigeria to give Nigerians value,” he said. “We want the Dangote Refinery to be the golden stock of the Exchange. Listing outside Nigeria is secondary to us.”
The move, according to Dangote, is a “vote of confidence” in Nigeria, in the reforms of the Tinubu administration, and in Africa’s potential to achieve energy security.
He challenged other refinery license holders to emulate this example, urging collaboration to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s vision of making Nigeria the refining hub of Africa.
Beyond petroleum, the group will also expand its polypropylene production capacity from 900,000 metric tonnes to 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum and boost output of other petrochemical products like linear alkylbenzene and base oils.
Operational self-sufficiency will be achieved by expanding the refinery’s power generation capacity to 1,000 megawatts.
Dangote stated that over 85% of the workforce will be Nigerians, backed by continuous investment in skills development and technology transfer.
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“This expansion will create additional jobs, support thousands of SMEs, and deepen our industrial base.
“Our goal has never been just to refine oil, but to refine opportunities for our people”, Dangote said.
