Nigerian billionaire investor Femi Otedola has welcomed the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s attainment of its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, describing the milestone as transformative for Nigeria and the wider African continent.
The refinery announced on Wednesday that it had reached nameplate capacity and commenced a 72-hour intensive performance test run, marking a critical stage in the ramp-up of what is Africa’s largest oil refining facility.
In a statement on Thursday, Otedola congratulated Aliko Dangote, founder of the $20 billion complex, and said the development could ease longstanding pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
“I congratulate my friend and brother, Aliko Dangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full 650,000 barrels per day capacity,” Otedola said. “More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa.”
The Lagos-based refinery is expected to supply up to 75 million litres per day of premium motor spirit, commonly known as petrol. For decades, Africa’s top oil producer has relied heavily on imported refined products despite its crude output, a structural imbalance that has strained public finances and foreign reserves.
Otedola said domestic refining at scale would alter that dynamic.
“Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserves foreign exchange,” he said. “With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly.”
Nigeria has grappled with persistent currency volatility, driven in part by high demand for dollars to finance fuel imports. Analysts have argued that local refining capacity could reduce the country’s import bill and support liquidity in the official foreign exchange market.
Otedola expressed optimism that improved energy self-sufficiency would have positive spillover effects on the naira.
“I am optimistic that the naira will strengthen meaningfully, and trading below N1,000 to the dollar before year-end is increasingly within reach,” he said.
The refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, is designed to process a wide slate of crude grades and produce petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other petroleum products for both domestic consumption and export. Its commissioning has been closely watched by investors and policymakers who see it as central to Nigeria’s industrial strategy.
Dangote is also pursuing further expansion. According to Otedola, the industrialist has embarked on an additional $12 billion investment to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The expansion plan includes 2.4 million metric tonnes of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tonnes of linear alkyl benzene, a key input in detergent production.
Work on the expansion has already begun, Otedola said, underscoring the scale of Dangote’s ambitions beyond fuels into petrochemicals.
The refinery’s move to full capacity represents a pivotal test of Nigeria’s long-stated goal of ending fuel import dependence. Market participants will now watch whether sustained output translates into lower import volumes, improved dollar liquidity and greater stability for the naira in the months ahead.