Deborah Akinyosoye
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to expand its 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 press briefing in Lagos on Sunday.
He said the expansion work would commence immediately and would position the refinery ahead of India’s Jamnagar Refinery, currently the world’s largest.
“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.
Dangote explained that the expansion project would create about 65,000 jobs, 85 per cent of which would go to Nigerians.
He added that the refinery would upgrade its production to Euro VI fuel standards, aligning with the highest global environmental benchmarks.
“With this expansion, the refinery transitions from producing Euro V to Euro VI fuel standards, meeting the highest global environmental benchmarks,” he stated.
Dangote further revealed that power generation at the facility would be increased from 500 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts as part of the project.
He also announced plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2026, giving Nigerians an opportunity to become shareholders.
Dangote expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his continuous support of the refinery project, noting that the expansion was expected to be completed within three years.
“The expansion is expected to be completed in three years,” he said.