Dangote Refinery’s 650,000bpd milestone By Vanguard Editorial Board on February 19, 2026 – Recommended Nigerian Newspaper Report 27
Dangote Refinery’s announcement that it has attained its initially projected capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is a thing of joy, not just to the company’s critical stakeholders but also to the Nigerian economy at large. It is a thing of pride for Africa where it stands as the largest oil refiner.
From its steady progression, the refinery is racing towards becoming the world’s largest facility, a feat it will achieve when it attains its upgraded capacity projection of 1.4 million bpd. By then, it will outsize the world’s top three refineries: Jamnagar of India (1.24 million bpd), Paraguana Refining Complex of Venezuela (940,000 bpd) and Ulsan Refinery of South Korea (850,000 bpd).
Dangote Refinery’s new Chief Executive Officer, David Bird, has expressed confidence that the plant is on track to deliver world class performance, adding:
“We remain committed to producing high quality refined products that will transform Nigeria’s energy landscape, eliminate import dependence and position the nation as a net exporter of petroleum products”.
Dangote Refinery, which commenced operations on May 22, 2023, is already playing a central role in pushing our bitter oil energy experiences to the back burner. Though the cost of petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and others are still astronomically high for most Nigerians, the era of fuel scarcity is gone.
Moreover, the price of petrol, for instance, has gradually climbed down from the initial ₦1,200 per litre it hit at the outset of subsidy withdrawal implementation in May 2023 to between N880 and N920. Dangote has made commendable efforts to gradually lower the cost of products within the realities of the overall market environment.
While we commend Dangote Refinery for the positive roles it is playing in the economy and the lives of Nigerians, we call on the Federal Government to continue administering the oil sector in such a manner that the field of play will comfortably accommodate all licenced players, including even importers. The more the merrier. Multiple players in the market will continue to augur well for price reduction, which will benefit the people.
Other budding refineries, including the modular ones, should be encouraged to switch on and compete in the domestic and international markets. The Federal Government should progressively channel its energies to the principled regulatory governance of the industry rather than being a competitor/regulator.
Nigerians look forward to the day when as a nation we fulfil our destiny as the oil giant of Africa, not just in crude production and sales but also in the supply of refined products to the global market. We should look beyond just crude oil refining and fully exploit petrochemical industrialisation, which is a bottomless gold mine.
We are indeed coming in from the cold!
Research Credits
*This compilation series was first researched, written, poster designed and last updated by Toju Micheal Ogbe.
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Dangote Refinery’s 650,000bpd milestone By Vanguard Editorial Board is a report series by PositiveNaija aims to amplify and preserve the truth as done on the editorials of various Nigerian newspapers.
