LAGOS—Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has surpassed its installed nameplate capacity to process 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) during a performance test by process licensors, the company announced Thursday.
The operational milestone at the $20 billion Lekki facility exceeds its original 650,000 bpd design limit, demonstrating the single-train refinery’s optimal engineering capacity to handle additional feedstock.
Management immediately leveraged the breakthrough to announce an aggressive expansion timeline. The firm plans a “ruthless replication” to double its capacity to 1.4 million bpd within the next 30 months.
The output boost comes amid major shifts in regional trade. Recent Kpler data showed the refinery’s seaborne exports surged to 353,000 bpd in April, with half supplying fuel-starved African nations.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have accelerated this transition. African buyers are increasingly abandoning traditional European imports, turning to the Nigerian hub to secure long-term domestic energy supplies.
The scale-up also repositions global aviation markets. S&P Global Commodities data ranked Dangote as the world’s largest jet fuel exporter in April, easing local foreign exchange pressures.
