Nigeria’s Dangote Group has signed a $400 million equipment deal with China’s Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) to accelerate the expansion of its oil refinery toward a planned capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day, the company said on Tuesday.
The additional equipment is expected to support major projects under construction across refining, petrochemicals, agriculture and infrastructure.
Dangote said the agreement with XCMG will enable it to acquire a wide range of heavy-duty machinery to complement existing assets deployed for the refinery expansion, which the company expects to complete within three years.
As part of the expansion, polypropylene capacity will increase to 2.4 million tonnes per year from 900,000 tonnes. Urea production in Nigeria will triple to 9 million tonnes per year. Combined with an existing 3 million-tonne plant in Ethiopia, this would position the conglomerate as the world’s largest urea producer, according to the company.
Output of linear alkyl benzene — a key raw material used in detergent production — will rise to 400,000 tonnes annually, making Dangote the largest supplier in Africa. Additional base oil capacity is also planned under the programme.
Dangote Group described the equipment deal as a strategic investment aligned with its ambition to become a $100 billion enterprise by 2030.
“The additional equipment we are acquiring under this partnership will significantly enhance execution across our projects,” the company said in a statement.
Owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, the $20 billion refinery began operations in 2024 after years of delays. Once fully operational, it is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined fuel and reshape fuel supply across West and Central Africa.
Reuters
