By August 2025, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery — the world’s largest single-train facility — is nearing its full 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity. Built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the $19 billion refinery in Lekki, Nigeria has ramped up production from about 440,000 bpd in June to around 610,000 bpd in August. This unprecedented output signals a new era for Nigeria, which has long exported crude oil only to import refined products at great expense. Run rates have increased month after month, dispelling doubts that the massive plant would struggle to operate at scale.
Argus notes that Dangote’s refinery is now the primary gasoline price setter in Nigeria and West Africa, frequently undercutting rivals. Its expanding output is reshaping regional fuel flows as traders redirect cargoes from Europe to other parts of Africa, while the refinery sells
In June 2025, the refinery shipped 90,000 metric tons of gasoline to Asia — its first export beyond West Africa. It also aims to rely solely on Nigerian crude by the end of 2025. In June, about 53 percent of the crude processed came from local producers and the rest mainly from the United States. Achieving supply independence would strengthen Nigeria’s control over its energy supply chain and keep more value within its economy.
Investors are taking notice: in August 2025, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced $1.35 billion in financing for the Dangote refinery as part of a larger $4 billion syndicated credit. The funding will ease start-up costs and support long-term growth. At the same time, Dangote is undertaking a de-bottlenecking project to expand capacity from 650,000 to 700,000 bpd by the end of 2025, with some units already running above their design limits. If successful, the expansion would solidify Nigeria’s place among the world’s major refining hubs.
The refinery’s near-full operation has far-reaching implications. It could free billions of dollars for public investment, create thousands of jobs and accelerate industrial development. For Africans in the diaspora, the project demonstrates that complex mega-projects can succeed at home, inspiring confidence and future investment. As production climbs toward capacity, the Dangote refinery stands poised to reshape Africa’s energy landscape and prove that the continent can not only extract crude, but also refine, export and lead in the global energy market.
gasoline to neighbouring countries. With enough volume to meet most of Nigeria’s needs, the plant could transform the nation from a net importer to a net exporter of gasoline, changing the balance of power in West Africa’s downstream sector.
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