95,000 Jobs Expected As Dangote Refinery Scales Up To 1.4m BPD
Nigeria’s industrial landscape is set for a significant shift as the Dangote Group begins a three-year journey to more than double the capacity of its multi-billion-dollar refinery. The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced an expansion of the facility to a production capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), a move expected to generate employment for no fewer than 95,000 skilled workers at the peak of construction.
Disclosing the development during his induction as an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) in Lagos, Dangote described the project as a major milestone in the nation’s industrial transformation. The expansion marks a substantial scale-up from the refinery’s current capacity of 650,000 bpd.
According to a statement from the firm, the expansion underscores the group’s commitment to engineering excellence and sustainable economic growth. “This award is particularly meaningful because it recognises what we are doing in the industry, especially our commitment to employing engineers and skilled professionals,” Dangote stated. “At the peak of construction for this expansion, we expect to have about 95,000 skilled workers on site, and we will continue to grow.”
Upon the successful completion of the three-year scale-up, the facility is projected to surpass the Jamnagar refinery in India, currently the world’s largest, to become the premier refining hub globally. This progression is expected to significantly strengthen Nigeria’s internal refining capacity, reducing the historical reliance on imported petroleum products.
The project is designed to rely heavily on Nigerian expertise, creating a pipeline of opportunities for engineers, technicians, and artisans. Beyond direct job creation, the refinery indicated that the expansion aims to stimulate local manufacturing, enhance technology transfer, and deepen the oil and gas value chain. Economically, the move is positioned to deliver foreign exchange savings and improve national fuel security.
“The scale of this expansion reflects our confidence in Nigerian capacity and our belief that Africa has the ability to build world-class infrastructure that meets global standards,” Dangote added.
In his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof. Rahamon Bello, noted that the honour bestowed upon Dangote was a recognition of impact that transcends physical infrastructure. Bello observed that Dangote’s trajectory continues to motivate a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators to believe in the possibilities within the continent.
This expansion comes at a time of evolving economic policies in Nigeria, with the project being framed as a long-term vision for industrialisation across Africa.