The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is set to become the world’s largest refinery by 2028 following plans to expand its current 700,000-barrels-per-day capacity.
Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, disclosed this on Monday at the preliminary signing ceremony for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of the refinery.
The facility, which is currently Africa’s largest refinery and the world’s largest single-train refinery, is expected to take the global lead once the expansion is completed.
Dangote described the proposed IPO as a significant milestone for the company, Nigeria and Africa.
He said the development of the refinery demonstrated what could be achieved through determination and sustained investment.
“Today also shows that nothing is impossible for us to achieve once we are focused and determined,” Dangote said.
Energy Security Critical to Industrialisation
Reflecting on the refinery’s development, Dangote said the project began more than a decade ago and received the backing of the group’s bankers.
He said the lenders showed confidence in the project even before seeing the refinery site or its licence.
According to him, the experience reinforced the importance of determination in pursuing major industrial projects.
Dangote said the group’s Vision 2030 agenda was focused on accelerating Africa’s industrialisation, noting that energy security remained essential to achieving the objective.
“We have learned the hard way, and we cannot industrialise if we do not have the energy security,” he said.
He added that the group had consequently focused its investments on strengthening energy security in Nigeria while extending its industrialisation drive to other African countries.
Dangote said expansion plans had also been announced in countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia.
He said the investments were aimed at encouraging more entrepreneurs to participate in Africa’s industrial development.
IPO Open to All Investors
On the proposed IPO, Dangote said there would be no restriction based on who could own shares in the refinery.
“There is no segregation on who can own the shares,” he said.
“We want every human being living on the continent to be part of this action.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, David Bird, said the facility was operating as a merchant refinery supplying Nigeria, West Africa and international markets.
Bird said the refinery had expanded its international reach and had become the largest supplier of jet fuel to Europe.
He said the facility had recorded strong performance over the past six months, helping to reduce the impact of supply disruptions associated with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
According to Bird, the refinery can process different grades of crude oil and supply products to several international markets.
He said the facility currently ranked among the five or six largest refineries in the world.
Bird disclosed that the planned expansion had already been sponsored, engineered and procured, with construction being the major phase yet to be completed.
“This is now just a construction exercise that we believe we can deliver by 2028 to make the Dangote refinery the largest integrated refinery and petrochemical complex on the planet,” he said.
