The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has unveiled plans to expand its production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) to 1.4 million BPD within the next three years.

The announcement was made on Wednesday in Lagos by the refinery’s Managing Director and CEO, David Bird, during an interactive media session. Bird said the expansion would adopt a “roofless replication” model, duplicating existing infrastructure to accelerate delivery without redesigning core engineering systems.

“Once engineers start tinkering with designs, projects return to prolonged engineering stages. Our approach avoids that. We will not re-engineer or redesign, allowing us to move directly into procurement and construction,” Bird explained.

He expressed confidence that the expansion would be completed within three years, citing extensive preparatory work already carried out at the Lekki site. Procurement of long-lead items will commence immediately, while site preparation and piling works are expected to begin before the end of January 2026. Bird added that steelwork could start later this year.

Highlighting the strategic foresight of Aliko Dangote, Bird noted that much of the land reclamation, raising, and pre-investment work had already been completed, reducing project delays.

The CEO also emphasised the refinery’s operational flexibility, noting it imports 100% of its crude by sea, allowing it to process diverse crude grades rather than being tied to a single pipeline. “We can process Nigerian grades, alternative crudes, intermediate feedstocks, and blending components. That flexibility guarantees security of supply,” he said.

Bird described the plant’s advanced conversion units as “moneymakers,” producing high-quality fuels that meet market specifications. Despite not operating at full capacity, the refinery consistently delivers products safely and reliably, even during planned maintenance.

During the festive season, the refinery supplied over 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily, maintaining average truck-out volumes of around 50 million litres.

On the naira-for-crude policy, Bird said discussions with NNPC Ltd. were ongoing to increase crude supply under the arrangement, urging stronger implementation by the government and regulators.

Bird also reaffirmed the refinery’s commitment to local capacity development, upskilling Nigerian workers and deepening domestic technical expertise throughout the expansion project.