By Deborah Nnamdi
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to increase its processing capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, a move that will make it the largest refinery in the world upon completion.
President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, disclosed this during a media briefing in Lagos on Sunday, alongside the Chairman of First Bank, Mr. Femi Otedola.
“We are expanding the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. Upon completion, this will make it the largest refinery in the world, surpassing the Jamnagar Refinery in India,” Dangote said.
He explained that construction work for the expansion would begin immediately and is expected to employ about 65,000 workers—85 per cent of whom will be Nigerians.
Dangote also revealed that the refinery’s power generation capacity will be doubled from 500 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts, while fuel production standards will be upgraded from Euro V to Euro VI specifications.
Additionally, the refinery will expand its polypropylene production from 900,000 metric tonnes to 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum, boosting the production of linear alkylbenzene—a key ingredient for detergent manufacturing—and enabling the facility to produce more base oils.
The billionaire industrialist further disclosed that the company plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2026, giving Nigerians the opportunity to become shareholders in the multibillion-dollar project.
Dangote expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his support, adding that the expansion project is expected to be completed within three years.
The landing cost of imported Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) also recorded a marginal decline last week, dropping from ₦849.61 to ₦839.97 per litre, according to data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN).
The MEMAN Competency Centre’s energy bulletin showed that the average landing cost stood at ₦849.61 on October 13, ₦847.61 on October 14, ₦841.54 on October 20, and ₦839.97 per litre on October 21.
However, the slight reduction in landing costs has yet to reflect in retail pump prices, as depot owners have not adjusted their rates and filling stations continued to sell petrol at around ₦915 per litre as of Thursday.
Former President of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE), Professor Wunmi Iledare, attributed the persistent price instability to structural economic weaknesses, overreliance on imported fuel, and the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, subsidy removal, and naira flotation.
He noted that with stronger governance and domestic refining capacity, petrol could retail for around ₦800 per litre in Nigeria.
