Dangote Group Selects Engineers India for $350m Expansion of Lekki Refinery to 1.4 Million bpd
Nigeria’s Dangote Group has awarded a $350 million contract to Engineers India Limited (EIL) to significantly expand its Lekki oil refinery, a move that would increase capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day and reinforce Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional hub for refined petroleum products.
Under the agreement, the Indian state-owned engineering firm will deliver a second processing train at the Lekki facility.
Once completed, the expansion would transform the site into the world’s largest refinery complex at a single location, more than doubling the refinery’s current capacity.
The project will also upgrade fuel production to Euro VI standards—stricter than the Euro V fuels currently produced—while tripling polypropylene output to 2.4 million metric tons per year.
This expansion includes refurbishing existing units, constructing a new 1.2 million metric ton polypropylene facility, and installing a 750,000 metric ton UOP Oleflex unit to supply propylene.
Engineers India will serve as project manager and engineering consultant, mirroring its role in the development of the original 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, which began operations in 2024. Located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, that plant is currently the world’s largest single-train refinery.
The refinery expansion directly addresses Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported refined fuels, despite being one of Africa’s largest crude oil producers.
Nigeria produces approximately 1.3 million barrels of crude oil per day but has relied heavily on imports due to years of underperformance at state-owned refineries—placing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and exposing the country to recurrent fuel supply disruptions.
Engineers India described the expansion as a globally significant project, noting that it will rank among the largest refinery developments ever undertaken at a single site.
The company, which operates under India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has extensive experience across oil and gas, petrochemicals, and industrial infrastructure projects worldwide.
Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group and Africa’s richest individual, has positioned the refinery as a central pillar of Nigeria’s industrial and economic transformation.
Dangote Group operates in 17 African countries across sectors including cement, sugar, fertilizer, and energy, and is one of West Africa’s largest private employers.
While the companies have not disclosed the project timeline or financing structure, Engineers India’s scope of work includes engineering, procurement, construction management, and commissioning through to project completion.
The Nigerian government has strongly supported domestic refining as a strategy to reduce fuel imports and stabilize domestic supply.
Fuel pricing remains politically sensitive following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of subsidies in May 2023, a policy shift that triggered short-term inflation but eased fiscal pressures.
The Lekki refinery already produces petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and polypropylene. Industry analysts say the expansion could reshape fuel trade flows in West Africa by enabling Nigeria to export refined products to neighboring countries that currently depend largely on European supply.
Engineers India’s appointment reflects the technical complexity of integrating new units into an operating mega-refinery.
Company officials say the original facility, which experienced initial startup challenges typical of large-scale industrial projects, is now operating at full design capacity.
Beyond refining, Dangote Group continues to pursue upstream oil and gas investments, fertilizer production at the Lekki complex, and potential expansion into additional African markets.
The refinery upgrade represents the group’s largest investment since completing the initial phase of the project.
