The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reached its full designed capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), marking what the company described as a historic milestone and making it the first refinery globally to achieve full nameplate capacity in a single train of that scale.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the refinery said the milestone followed the optimisation of its Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and Motor Spirit (MS) production block, strengthening steady-state operations at Africa’s largest oil refining facility.

The company added that it has commenced an intensive 72-hour series of performance test runs in collaboration with its technology licensor, UOP, to validate operational efficiency and confirm that all critical parameters meet global standards.

Dangote Refinery Chief Executive Officer David Bird said the seamless integration and strong performance of the CDU and MS Block reflect the plant’s advanced engineering and operational resilience.

“Our teams have demonstrated exceptional precision and expertise in stabilising both the CDU and MS Block, and we are pleased to see them functioning at optimal efficiency. This performance testing phase enables us to validate the entire plant under real operating conditions. We are confident that the refinery remains firmly on track to deliver consistent, world-class output.

“This milestone underscores the strength, reliability, and engineering quality that define our operations. We remain committed to producing high-quality refined products that will transform Nigeria’s energy landscape, eliminate import dependence, and position the nation as a net exporter of petroleum products,” the refinery said.

Bird said the CDU and MS Block — which include the naphtha hydrotreater, isomerisation unit, and reformer unit — are now operating steadily at the full nameplate capacity of 650,000 bpd, adding that the remaining processing units will begin their respective performance test runs in Phase 2, scheduled to commence next week.

The refinery disclosed that it supplied between 45 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily during the recent festive period and can now comfortably deliver up to 75 million litres of PMS daily to the domestic market with the CDU and MS Block fully restored.

The 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery is widely viewed as a transformative project for Nigeria’s energy sector, with analysts estimating that full operation could help the country save up to $10 billion annually in foreign exchange, create thousands of jobs, strengthen the naira, and enhance regional energy security.

By reducing the need to import more than 80% of refined products, the refinery is also expected to stabilise fuel supply, reduce price volatility, and end recurring fuel shortages and long queues, while boosting downstream industries such as petrochemicals and fertiliser production.

Located on a 6,180-acre site at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, the refinery is supplied by a 1,100-kilometre subsea pipeline network. In October 2025, Aliko Dangote announced plans to expand the facility’s capacity from 650,000 bpd to 1.4 million bpd, which would surpass India’s 1.36 million bpd Jamnagar refinery as the world’s largest.

The expansion is also expected to support additional petrochemical investments, including linear alkylbenzene and base oils production, and increase annual polypropylene output from one million to 1.5 million metric tonnes.