The continent’s largest oil producer, Nigeria, has announced plans to nearly double production to 4 million barrels per day (bpd) and triple its refining capacity to 1.5 million bpd by 2025.
As reported by Bloomberg, the country wants to be ‘self-reliant in meeting its fuel demand and cut imports [of refined oil]’. According to Nigerian National Petroleum Corp MD Maikanti Baru, the country ‘needs to unlock new barrels as quickly as possible’.
Currently, the nation’s four state-owned refineries are struggling to utilise their combined 445 000 bpd capacity ‘following years of neglect and mismanagement’.
Near Lagos, however, a US$15 billion refinery with 650 000 bpd capacity is under construction. Owned by Aliko Dangote, it is expected to be one of the biggest refineries in the world.
