Aliko Dangote Partners with Mitsui Chemicals to Launch Africa’s Largest Petrochemical Venture
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is expanding his industrial footprint beyond oil refining into the global petrochemical sector through a new partnership with Japanese chemical giant Mitsui Chemicals.
The deal, announced at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, aims to encourage wider Japanese corporate participation in Africa’s petrochemical market and marks a major diversification move for Dangote Industries.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) facilitated by AAIC Holdings, Dangote will leverage feedstock from his 650,000-barrel-per-day Lagos refinery to produce high-value petrochemical products, including resins, plastics, and fertilizers, with Mitsui providing technology and expertise.
Representatives at the signing included Yoshinori Andou, Senior Managing Executive Officer of Mitsui Chemicals; Devakumar V. G. Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries; and Susumu Tsubaki, Representative Director of AAIC.
Dangote’s push into petrochemicals centers on a $2 billion plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, adjacent to his refinery complex.
The facility, capable of producing 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene annually, will be the largest of its kind in Africa.
It is designed to manufacture 77 high-performance grades of polypropylene and has an annual turnover of $1.2 billion, meeting the growing demand from downstream plastic processing industries across Africa and globally.
Analysts highlight that the partnership carries both local and international benefits. For Nigeria, it could reduce reliance on imported plastics and fertilizers, create jobs, and stimulate industrial growth.
Globally, it positions Dangote alongside established petrochemical giants while giving Mitsui Chemicals access to Africa’s largest economy and one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.
By converting refinery output into diversified industrial products, Dangote is strengthening his energy empire and supporting Nigeria’s ambitions to move up the global value chain.
Success in this venture could establish Africa’s largest refinery complex as a catalyst for industrial transformation across the continent.
