The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos has successfully reached its full designed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) on its Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and Motor Spirit (MS) production block a major operational milestone.
Company management says this makes the plant one of the first (if not the first) single-train refineries globally to sustain this level of output.
With CDU and MS units now at full capacity, the refinery’s output of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS/petrol) is expected to rise significantly. Previously it had been supplying 45–50 million litres per day, and with full capacity, it can comfortably deliver up to about 75 million litres daily.
This increase strengthens Nigeria’s ability to meet domestic fuel needs and reduce dependence on imported refined products a key strategic goal for the facility.
After scheduled maintenance and unit restorations earlier this year, the refinery began a 72-hour performance verification run in partnership with technology licensor UOP to ensure the plant meets international refining standards at full throughput.
Analysts and industry figures see this full capacity milestone as potentially transformative for Nigeria’s energy security, foreign exchange savings, and industrial growth.
Management has indicated that performance testing of remaining processing units will continue in subsequent phases, potentially enhancing overall efficiency further.
The Dangote Refinery, commissioned in May 2023, is the largest single-train refinery in the world, originally designed to process 650,000 bpd of crude into refined products including petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel.
Expansion plans are underway to eventually increase capacity beyond 650,000 bpd (including longer-term goals toward 1.4 million bpd).
The Dangote Refinery has now hit its full 650,000 bpd capacity, significantly boosting petrol output potential and marking a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s refining industry and efforts to end fuel import dependence.
