President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed full support for the Dangote Refinery’s expansion plan, which aims to increase production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. The president gave his assurance during the 19th OTL Africa Downstream Conference and Exhibition held in Lagos on Monday.

Represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, Tinubu described the Dangote Refinery project as a game-changer for Nigeria, Africa, and the global energy market. He emphasized that the expansion would make Nigeria more self-sufficient in refined petroleum products and improve energy supply across the continent.

Tinubu also noted that Africa remains a major market for refined petroleum products, citing data that shows the continent imported about $120 billion worth of hydrocarbons in 2024. He explained that most of the financial benefits from such imports still go to countries outside Africa, stressing that Nigeria must work to retain more of that value within the continent.

“Our target is to redeem a proportion of that value by producing locally and distributing efficiently across Africa,” Tinubu said.

The president’s remarks come shortly after Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Refinery, announced plans to expand production to 1.4 million barrels per day, reinforcing Nigeria’s ambition to become a major refining hub for Africa.