Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery looks to fill petrochemical import gap

Published: 2026-04-22 12:50:12 ET HON

Published on 04/22/2026 at 12:50 pm EDT

Nigeria’s 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery is set to expand its role in petrochemical manufacturing by producing ingredients used in cleaning products and detergents, targeting another import-dependent part of the Nigerian economy aside from fuels.

According to Business Insider Africa, Dangote will use technology provided by US-based Honeywell International Inc. to produce linear alkylbenzene (LAB), a key ingredient used in detergent manufacturing. Bloomberg notes that the plant aims to produce 400,000 metric tonnes of the product per year, aligning with broader goals to increase income to $100bn in four years, while leveraging other investments such as a new port in Lagos – currently in the planning stage – and increased production of fertilisers.

Alongside investment into LAB production, Dangote and Honeywell also agreed to produce 750,000 metric tonnes of propylene per year, with both projects slated to be completed in three years.

Dangote’s decision to expand its petrochemical manufacturing capabilities is linked to a previous agreement with Honeywell, which saw the company offer technology services that would double the plant’s capacity to 1.4mn bpd by 2028. In January, the refinery’s chief executive officer, David Bird, also said that the plant would be able to construct said expansion within three years, aligning with expected targets for increased petrochemical production.

According to Bird, Dangote will do this by replicating a strategy that is designed to minimise cost overruns and delays – named “roofless replication” – which will essentially recreate the refinery’s existing design without reopening any detailed engineering work.

Speaking on January 14, the CEO said that the new approach would allow Dangote to speed up procurement and construction by relying on proven specifications.

“Once you let engineers go back into an expansion, they often start to tinker, and that sends you back into months or years of detailed engineering,” Bird noted, adding: “The idea here is replication. We will not need to reengineer, so we can get straight into ordering long-lead items and commencing construction.”

Following its initial agreement with Dangote regarding expansion, Honeywell said in a press release that “Dangote will leverage Honeywell’s refining and petrochemical processing solutions . . .to grow its refining capacity over the next three years. With this expansion, Dangote will become the world’s largest petroleum refinery, strengthening in-continent fuel production, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting local energy security needs”.