DANGOTE EXPANDS REFINERY PROJECT WITH 4,000 NEW MACHINES

Dangote Industries Limited has acquired an additional 4,000 pieces of construction equipment to support the expansion of its refinery in Lekki, Lagos, from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.

The development brings the company’s construction equipment fleet to 6,500 machines, including 330 cranes, according to the Group Vice President, Oil and Gas and Fertiliser, Devakumar Edwin.

Edwin disclosed this during a briefing with journalists during a tour of the refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

He explained that Dangote initially acquired 2,563 pieces of equipment after some contractors indicated that they lacked the capacity to handle the construction of the refinery’s main factory buildings.

According to him, the company decided to purchase its own equipment instead of relying heavily on foreign contractors because of the additional costs involved in bringing construction machinery into Nigeria.

Edwin said the infrastructure already developed for the existing refinery would also support the expansion, helping to reduce both the cost and time required for the project.

The refinery, which has a current nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is already operating at about 700,000 barrels per day, he added.

The expansion is expected to raise the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.