Africa’s largest oil refinery, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has announced that it is now operating at its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
Gatekeepers News reports that this marks a major milestone for Nigeria’s downstream oil sector and positions the country more strongly in the global energy market.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the company disclosed that the achievement followed the successful completion of scheduled maintenance and optimisation works on its crude distillation unit (CDU) and motor spirit (MS) production block.
The refinery said the restoration of these critical units has enabled stable and efficient operations, allowing the plant to reach its full nameplate capacity for the first time. The company also described the development as a global record, noting that it is the “first refinery in the world to attain this feat” on such a scale.
The refinery had earlier announced on January 5 that its CDU and residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) units were undergoing routine maintenance to improve operational efficiency and long-term reliability.
According to the latest update, the maintenance exercise has been fully concluded, with all restored units now functioning optimally, further reinforcing the facility’s steady-state operations in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos.
“Following a scheduled maintenance exercise on the CDU and MS Block, the refinery has commenced an intensive 72-hour series of performance test runs in collaboration with licensor UOP,” the statement reads.
The refinery explained that the performance tests are intended to confirm operational stability, efficiency, and compliance with international industry standards. The exercise is also intended to validate the plant’s capacity to deliver sustained, high-volume output under real operating conditions.
During the recent festive season, the refinery said it supplied between 45 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily to the domestic market. With the CDU and MS block now fully restored, the company stated that it is ready to comfortably supply up to 75 million litres of PMS daily, a volume expected to significantly ease fuel supply challenges, stabilise pump prices, and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
Reacting to the development, David Bird, chief executive officer of Dangote Refinery, said the smooth reintegration of the units demonstrates the facility’s strong engineering design and operational strength.
“Our teams have demonstrated exceptional precision and expertise in stabilising both the CDU and MS Block, and we are pleased to see them functioning at optimal efficiency,” he said.
“This performance testing phase enables us to validate the entire plant under real operating conditions. We are confident that the refinery remains firmly on track to deliver consistent, world-class output. This milestone underscores the strength, reliability, and engineering quality that define our operations.”
Bird added that the refinery is committed to delivering high-quality refined petroleum products that will reshape Nigeria’s energy sector, reduce the country’s reliance on fuel imports, conserve foreign exchange, and establish Nigeria as a net exporter of refined petroleum products across Africa and beyond.
He further disclosed that the CDU and MS block, which includes the naphtha hydrotreater, isomerisation unit, and reformer unit, is now running steadily at its full design capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
According to him, all other processing units in the refinery are scheduled to commence their performance testing phase next week as part of the plant’s final operational ramp-up.
Bird also expressed appreciation to customers and Nigerians for their support, reiterating the refinery’s commitment to boosting energy security, supporting industrial development, creating jobs, and driving long-term economic growth and diversification across the country.
