• Dangote Refinery signs $350 million expansion oversight deal with India’s EIL
• Project to boost capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day
• Expansion targets Euro VI fuels, higher polypropylene output

Dangote Refinery has reached a new milestone in its nameplate capacity expansion, two years after it began operations. India’s state-owned Engineers India Ltd (EIL) said it signed a contract with the Nigerian firm on Jan. 17 to oversee the next stage of the project.

 EIL said the contract was worth more than $350 million. Under the deal, it will act as project management consultant (PMC), covering engineering design, procurement coordination and construction oversight under an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract.

EIL said the expansion would raise Dangote’s refining capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, including through the addition of a second processing train, and would enable production of Euro VI-compliant fuels. The group also aims to increase polypropylene output from 830,000 tonnes a year to 2.4 million tonnes, through refurbishment of the existing unit and installation of additional equipment.

Neither company disclosed a project timeline or how much the expansion could reduce Nigeria’s fuel imports.

 Nigeria is Africa’s top crude producer, pumping 1.64 million barrels per day including condensates in the first 11 months of 2025, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), but it still relies heavily on imports of refined products.

 Central Bank of Nigeria data showed the country spent about $6.7 billion on petroleum product imports between January and September 2025, down 54% from the same period in 2023.

 In November 2025, Dangote said it had selected U.S. firm Honeywell to supply technology and equipment for the expansion. Last week, Dangote Refinery CEO David Bird said the company wants to help stabilise fuel prices in Nigeria.

Abdel-Latif Boureima