Dangote Group, which owns the biggest refinery in Africa, has signed an agreement with Chinese construction and mining equipment manufacturer XCMG to buy equipment for accelerating the refinery complex expansion.
The Dangote refinery, owned by Africa’s richest person Aliko Dangote, has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). Plans are to boost the capacity to 1.4 million bpd with petrochemicals projects. The expansion is currently expected to be completed in three years, according to a statement by Dangote Group carried by Reuters.
“Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate across multiple sectors including mining, petrochemicals, building materials, agriculture and infrastructure construction, leveraging their respective strengths to pursue joint growth and long-term value creation,” Dangote Group said.
“The deal reflects Dangote Group’s broader push to deepen industrial capacity across Africa through strategic global partnerships, while aligning with XCMG’s ambition to expand its footprint and service offering on the continent,” the Nigerian conglomerate added.
Dangote, the biggest refinery in Africa, began operations in 2024, has already started exporting fuel to regions other than West Africa. The refinery started up in January 2024 with the launch of diesel and naphtha production and began producing gasoline in September 2024.
The refinery is expected to meet 100% of Nigeria’s demand for all refined petroleum products and will also have a surplus of each of the products for export.
Dangote will also export polypropylene to the global markets under an exclusive partnership with petrochemicals distributor Vinmar International.
Despite setbacks in gasoline production last year, the Dangote refinery processed record volumes of crude per day in January 2026.
The refinery now supplies 62% of the country’s premium motor fuel, overtaking fuel importers for the first time ever. The giant plant finally reached full operational capacity at 650,000 bpd, marking an important milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to cut reliance on imported fuel.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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