The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced that the planned expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to a production capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day will generate employment for no fewer than 95,000 skilled workers at the peak of construction.
Dangote disclosed this at the weekend in Lagos during his induction as an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, describing the project as a significant step in Nigeria's industrial development.
"At the peak of construction for this expansion, we expect to have about 95,000 skilled workers on site, and we will continue to grow," he said.
The figure represents an upward revision from the 65,000 construction-phase workers Dangote cited at an October 2025 press briefing where the expansion was first publicly announced. Dangote Group had not responded to a request for clarification on the difference as of press time.
Upon completion, Dangote said the expanded refinery will surpass the Jamnagar Refinery in India to become the largest refinery in the world. The $20 billion facility, currently operating at 650,000 bpd, is already the world's largest single-train refinery. The expansion is targeted for completion within three years.
He noted that over 85 per cent of the construction workforce would be Nigerian, with ongoing investment in skills transfer and technical training.
"This expansion reflects our confidence in Nigeria's future, our belief in Africa's potential, and our commitment to building energy independence for our continent," Dangote said.
Beyond employment, the expansion is expected to scale polypropylene production from 900,000 metric tonnes to 2.4 million metric tonnes annually. Power generation capacity will also increase from 500 megawatts to 1,000MW, while fuel output will upgrade from Euro V to Euro VI standards.
Dangote projected that annual revenues from the expanded facility could exceed $55 billion. He acknowledged that the current 650,000bpd phase has yet to recoup its initial investment, describing the expansion as a long-term commitment to industrial transformation.
Financing will be drawn from a combination of operating cash flow, strategic investors, and a planned listing of 10 per cent of refinery shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2026.
"Our goal has never been just to refine oil, but to refine opportunities for our people," Dangote said.
He credited federal government policies, including the Naira-for-Crude arrangement, the Nigeria First policy, and the One-Stop Shop initiative, as key enablers of the project. He also commended the government's intervention in resolving a recent labour dispute involving NUPENG and PENGASSAN that had threatened to disrupt refinery operations.