Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote says his Lagos-based refinery, already Africa’s biggest, is set to double capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) — a scale that would make it the largest single-site oil refinery in the world.
Currently operating at roughly 650,000 bpd, Dangote said the expansion is driven by growing fuel demand across Nigeria and the wider continent — and his belief in Africa’s potential to lead in energy infrastructure.
The refinery’s construction — originally estimated at about US$19–20 billion and nearly a decade in the making — is seen as a landmark project for Nigeria’s energy sector, which has long imported refined petrol, diesel and aviation fuel despite being an oil‐producer.
While the ambition is clear, analysts say key details remain uncertain: timeline for reaching 1.4 million bpd, capital funding, and securing stable crude feed supply.