Billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Femi Otedola, has congratulated the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

The refinery’s management had announced that it attained its full nameplate capacity following the restoration and optimisation of its Crude Distillation Unit and Motor Spirit production block, describing it as a global first for a single-train refinery of its scale.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company said it had commenced a 72-hour intensive performance test run in collaboration with its licensor, UOP, to validate operational stability, efficiency, and compliance with global standards.

The refinery said the milestone followed a scheduled maintenance exercise on the Crude Distillation Unit and MS Block, after which both units were fully stabilised and optimised for steady-state operations.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, David Bird, said the seamless integration of the units demonstrates the refinery’s engineering depth and operational resilience.

Reacting in a statement shared on his verified X handle on Thursday, Otedola described the development as a landmark achievement for Dangote, Nigeria, and the African continent.

“I congratulate my friend and brother, @AlikoDangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full 650,000 barrels per day capacity,” he wrote.

Otedola said the development represents a major shift in Nigeria’s energy landscape, noting that supplying up to 75 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit daily would significantly change the country’s energy narrative and conserve foreign exchange.

“With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the increased refining capacity would strengthen the naira, adding that trading below ₦1,000 to the dollar before the end of the year was increasingly within reach.

Otedola also disclosed that Dangote had embarked on an additional $12 billion expansion project aimed at increasing refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, alongside plans to produce 2.4 million tonnes of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tonnes of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent production.

He congratulated Dangote on the milestone, describing it as a source of pride for Nigeria.