The Dangote Refinery has commenced construction on a major expansion project that will increase its production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, positioning it as the largest refinery in the world upon completion.

According to the Punch, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, announced the development during a press briefing in Lagos on Sunday, alongside his longtime associate and 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 disclosed that the expansion, which is expected to be completed within three years, follows the signing of an agreement with the project’s technology licensor.

Dangote expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government for their continued support, crediting recent policies such as the Nigeria First Policy, Naira-for-Crude, and the One-Stop Shop initiative for driving industrial growth and encouraging domestic crude refining.

These reforms, he noted, have emboldened the refinery to take this major step to ensure all Nigerian crude is processed locally while exporting only finished petroleum products.

Despite ongoing crude supply challenges, Dangote remained optimistic that the government would ensure adequate crude allocation to sustain operations at the facility. He also praised the government’s intervention in resolving past disruptions at the refinery, including union-related issues and sabotage attempts.

According to him, the expansion project reflects confidence in Nigeria’s economic potential and the continent’s capacity to achieve energy independence.

“It is also about confidence in Nigeria, in Africa, and in our capacity to shape our own energy future,” Dangote said.

“It is the dream of President Bola Tinubu for Nigeria to emerge as one of the major suppliers of petroleum products in the world. And with his strong backing through previously stated policies, we are taking on the challenge to make this happen.”

Highlighting the economic impact of the expansion, Dangote noted that about 65,000 workers would be engaged during the construction phase, with 85 percent being Nigerians. He also revealed plans to double the refinery’s power generation capacity from 500 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 MW.

In addition, the refinery will increase its polypropylene output from 900,000 metric tonnes to 2.4 million metric tonnes annually, boosting the local production of linear alkylbenzene — a critical raw material for detergent manufacturing — as well as base oils.

“With this expansion, the refinery transitions from producing Euro V to Euro VI fuel standards, meeting the highest global environmental benchmarks, and expands power generation capacity, ensuring full operational self-sufficiency,” he explained. “Over 85 per cent of our workforce will be Nigerian, with ongoing investment in skills and technology transfer.”