Photo caption: Dangote Refinery
The nameplate capacity of the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery is projected to reach 700,000 barrels per day by December 2025, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s refining capacity, a new report by Argus Media has revealed.
According to the report, the increase represents a 50,000bpd boost from the current 650,000bpd capacity, driven by ongoing operational optimisation and phased expansion plans at the multi-billion-dollar facility. The report read, “Industry sources said this could happen by as early as December.”
Confirming the development, the Group Executive Director, Dangote Industries Limited, Edwin Devakumar, told Argus in an interview on Thursday that the upgrade became necessary following improvements in crude processing efficiency and output since the plant commenced operations earlier this year.
“The refinery is expanding from 650,000 barrels per day to 700,000 barrels per day, and this should be completed by the end of 2025,” Devakumar stated. The upgrade, when completed, is expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s push towards self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and reduce overreliance on imports.
“In most of the departments, our production level has gone far beyond 100 per cent,” Devakumar said. “So, we need to just do a bit of de-bottlenecking to increase the overall production.” The Dangote refinery started operations in early 2024, and after a slow ramp-up, receipts of crude are 644,000 barrels per day to date in July, according to Kpler.
This makes it likely the refinery will surpass the monthly record of 445,000 b/d set in June. Gasoline sales from the refinery began in September.
“We have already crossed 120 per cent of the nameplate capacity of the mild hydrocracker, 125 per cent of capacity at the RFCC gasoline desulphurisation unit, 106 per cent of capacity at the continuous catalytic regeneration unit, 140 per cent of capacity in the Penex process, and 143 per cent of capacity at the naphtha hydrotreater”, Devakumar said.
He previously said the refinery was buying more naphtha to boost gasoline output. The improvement in production is expected to boost the in-country supply and exports to other countries.
On Tuesday, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the refinery has exported Premium Motor Spirit, selling approximately 1.35 billion litres of petrol to other countries worldwide in the past 50 days. According to Dangote, between June and July 2025, the refinery exported up to 1 million tonnes of petrol, which is approximately 1.35 billion litres when converted.
