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Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Dangote refinery set to overtake world's sixth largest refinery, after expansion to 700,000 bpd
The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Africa's largest single-train oil refinery, is undergoing a strategic upgrade to expand its production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd by the end of 2025. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos is expanding production capacity from 650,000 to 700,000 barrels per day by the end of 2025. This enhancement aims to position the refinery among the largest globally, with modifications across critical refining units. The refinery has been leveraging global supply chains, including purchasing significant amounts of crude oil from the U.S. This development marks a new milestone in the billionaire's ambitious plan to continue to spearhead the continent's push for energy self-sufficiency. At launch, Dangote Refinery's 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity ranked it as the seventh largest refinery in the world and Africa's largest. With its recent upgrade to 700,000 bpd, it now aims to surpass South Korea's Onsan Refinery, which holds the sixth spot with a capacity of 669,000 bpd. According to Punch ng, the upgrade is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year and involves modifications across key refining units. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, disclosed the ongoing efforts during a media tour of the massive refinery complex in Lagos, Nigeria. ' Our RFCC is at 85 per cent. We are not up to 100 per cent because there are some modifications that we are doing. It will finish by the end of the year, and we believe we will get to 700,000 bpd, not even 650,000, because all the other components that we have and all the other departments have all (reached 100 per cent). Some are even doing up to 145 per cent. So, we've done very well in that area, " The billionaire explained. The RFCC unit plays a crucial role in converting heavy crude oil into higher-value products like gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas. With progress in other units, Dangote remains optimistic about achieving full operational capacity. Dangote imports crude amid shortage In a move that underscores the global nature of energy supply chains, and inconsistency with local supply, Dangote revealed that the refinery purchased 19 million barrels of crude oil from the United States between June and July 2025. In July alone, 10 million barrels were sourced from the U.S., representing 55 per cent of the refinery's crude feedstock. The refinery's establishment was born out of a failed attempt by Dangote to acquire Nigeria's state-owned refineries during the administration of the late President Umar Musa Yar'Adua in 2007. That decision, he said, sparked a vision to build a world-class facility that would address Africa's chronic dependence on imported refined products. Dangote however warned that foreign players continue to undermine African industries through mass importation strategies, hindering local production. This highlights the challenges faced by African industries in competing with international suppliers. ' Apart from Algeria and Libya, which are self-sufficient in Africa, technically, everybody is an importer ' he said. ' If you go to Lome, you will see a massive number of ships. That's what they do to attack all the industries in sub-Saharan Africa. Even if you look at the refineries in South Africa, they are actually not operating. Only one is now operating in South Africa, but we were able to take this risk' he added. The billionaire candidly admitted that the refinery journey has been far more complex than anticipated. He said, " People believe building a refinery is like building a house, but if I knew what we were going to face, I wouldn't have started it at all." Despite the challenges, the Dangote Refinery is nearing full-scale operation, symbolizing industrial ambition and a bold attempt to reshape Africa's energy landscape, and reducing reliance on imported fuel and securing economic independence for oil-producing nations. Dangote also expressed optimism about the future, attributing the group's success to their willingness to take on seemingly impossible challenges. "The luck that we've had now as a group was because we didn't know what we were getting into, really, and we believe that nothing is impossible." He said.
Business Insider
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
West Africa's fuel imports surge as Dangote refinery undergoes maintenance, cuts output
A maintenance exercise at the Dangote Refinery, which lasted approximately 30 days and involved shutting down its 204,000 barrels-per-day gasoline unit, caused a significant rise in fuel imports across West Africa. The Dangote Refinery underwent a 30-day maintenance exercise, shutting down its gasoline production unit and reducing output by 100,000 barrels per day. The temporary output reduction caused increased petroleum imports within West Africa, raising European gasoline prices. Togo has become a significant player in regional fuel imports, utilizing methods like breakbulk shipping to optimize trade efficiency. This temporary reduction in fuel output from the Dangote refinery considered as the largest in the region, led to increased reliance on fuel imports to meet regional demand. During the maintenance period, the refinery continued to operate at around 85% of its total capacity. As of February 2025, Dangote Refinery officials announced plans to ramp up production to full capacity within 30 days, targeting a processing volume of 650,000 barrels per day. Dangote refinery undergoes maintenance The Dangote refinery in Nigeria, one of the largest globally, restarted its key gasoline unit, the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC), after a four-week shutdown to fix design issues. This unit's closure in April cut about 100,000 barrels per day of gasoline output, causing local fuel shortages and pushing European gasoline prices higher. S&P Global commodity insights reports that during the outage, the refinery relied on a smaller unit to meet domestic demand, leading West African countries to increase fuel imports from Europe. The Refinery has also reportedly cancelled the planned maintenance on its 204,000 barrels-per-day gasoline-producing unit for June, having carried out the necessary work during the unplanned shutdown from April 7 to May 11. Gasoline imports into Nigeria and Togo rose from 200,000 barrels per day in January to over 300,000 b/d in March, before easing slightly in April. Other refinery units producing diesel, jet fuel, and residual fuels remained operational, with the crude distillation unit running at 85% capacity before maintenance. Dangote now plans to ramp up to full capacity. On May 12, a ₦10/litre drop in gasoline prices signaled improving production and supply. Fuel Trade Shift in West Africa Dangote has become Africa's largest fuel supplier, dominating the regional market. Last year, Bloomberg reported that the tanker CL Jane Austen loaded over 300,000 barrels of gasoline from Dangote and sailed to waters off Togo. Ghana also considered purchasing from Dangote to reduce costly European imports, which currently cost about $400 million monthly. As of last year, Dangote was in advanced talks with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, with initial discussions ongoing with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic. The drop in production output has dealt a blow to the refinery's supply prospects and its numerous customers across the continent and beyond. To meet regional fuel needs, marketers have turned to European suppliers.
TimesLIVE
14-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery cancels June maintenance at gasoline unit: IIR
Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery has cancelled June maintenance at its 204,000 barrels per day (bpd) gasoline-making unit as it completed planned works during an unplanned shutdown from April 7 to May 11, according to industry monitor IIR. During the unplanned outage, the Dangote refinery increased exports of residual products such as straight run fuel oil, while exports of finished products such as jet fuel and gasoil dropped, according to shipping trade analytics firm Kpler. Nigeria's gasoline imports rose by 24% on the month in April to 157,000 bpd, Kpler data show. Dangote had initially planned to shut its gasoline-making residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit for 30-day maintenance in June. The 650,000 bpd refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos began processing crude into products, including gas oil, naphtha and jet fuel, in January 2024 and started producing gasoline in September. The Dangote refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
