By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Tinubu has officially pledged his support for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s expansion plan, which aims to more than double its refining capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a staggering 1.4 million bpd.
This move is set to make the facility the world’s largest single-train refinery, surpassing India’s Jamnagar complex.
The commitment was reaffirmed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who spoke on behalf of President Tinubu at the 19th edition of the OTL Africa Downstream Conference and Exhibition in Lagos on Monday.
Tinubu described the massive expansion as a “game-changer” for Nigeria’s energy security, West Africa, and the global energy market.
“Data has shown that Africa has enough markets. By 2024, the data available shows that Africa imported $120 billion worth of hydrocarbon resources.
“That shows that Africa has the market. But because we have limited financial capacity and a limited distribution network, most of the money still goes back to countries outside the continent. For Nigeria, our target is to see how we can redeem a proportion of that value,” Lokpobiri, speaking on behalf of the President, said.
