Dangote Deploys 4,000 New Machines for Lekki Refinery Expansion

Dangote Industries Limited has acquired an additional 4,000 pieces of construction equipment as part of plans to expand its Lekki refinery, increasing its construction equipment fleet to 6,500 machines.

The Group Vice President for Oil and Gas and Fertiliser, Devakumar Edwin, disclosed this during a briefing with editors at the refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

According to Edwin, the company initially purchased 2,563 pieces of equipment after contractors, including Julius Berger, indicated that they lacked the capacity to construct some of the refinery’s main factory buildings.

He said the latest expansion has led Dangote to acquire another 4,000 machines, including 330 cranes.

Edwin explained that Dangote chose to purchase its own equipment rather than rely entirely on foreign engineering, procurement and construction contractors because importing and later returning contractors’ equipment would significantly increase project costs.

He said the company also decided to build its own construction capacity because of Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges.

The refinery was originally designed to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day but is currently operating at about 700,000 barrels per day, according to Edwin.

He said much of the infrastructure developed during the first phase of the refinery would be used for the expansion, helping to reduce both the cost and duration of the project.

Existing infrastructure includes a granite quarry with a 10-million-tonne capacity, 82 concrete batching plants, 203 transit mixers, a private port, an oxygen and welding-gas plant, and accommodation facilities capable of housing up to 50,000 workers.

Edwin also disclosed that international contractors had proposed fees of about 12.5 per cent of the estimated $19.5 billion capital cost of the expansion. He said Dangote rejected the proposal and instead decided to execute the project through its own project company, Dangote Projects Limited.

He said Dangote Projects Limited handled the detailed engineering, procurement and engagement of contractors for the refinery project.

The Lekki refinery remains the world’s largest single-train petroleum refinery, with a current design capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Edwin said about 95 per cent of the refinery’s output consists of high-value products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel, while the remaining five per cent is an industrial product.

He added that the refinery was designed to produce Euro 5 and Euro 6 petroleum products and process different grades of African crude as well as US West Texas Intermediate crude.

According to him, Dangote’s total refining capacity is expected to reach 2.1 million barrels per day following the Lekki refinery expansion and the planned construction of a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Kenya.

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