The African energy market has been boosted by the news that Dangote, a Nigerian energy company, has selected US-based Honeywell as the preferred supplier of required technologies for the refinery expansion of the Dangote facility in Lagos. The African energy sector has long been operating in the shadow of more influential markets around the world. However, the Dangote refinery is aiming to shift the attention of the international energy community to Africa by expanding operations to reach new levels of oil production.
Nigeria has long been the cornerstone of the African oil industry
Nigeria’s vast oil resources have led the nation to become the foundation for the oil industry in Africa, and the Dangote refinery is the flagship achievement of the African energy sector, and has plans to become the largest energy complex anywhere in the world. Dangote has noted that the plan is to boost the refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.
Notably, the company released a statement outlining the plans to bring in Honeywell to supply the necessary technology for the upscaling of the refinery’s capacity. The US-based company has a wide variety of essential technologies that can assist any project, and has been selected by Dangote as the preferred supplier of said technologies.
“Dangote Group is pleased to announce that it has entered a strategic partnership with Honeywell International Inc to support the next phase of expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This collaboration will provide advanced technology and services that will enable the refinery to increase its processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, marking a major milestone in our long-term vision to build the world’s largest petroleum refining complex. – statement from Dangote
The progress being made in advancing the expansion has been a sight to behold
The announcement made by Dangote comes only a month after it laid out the expansion plans for the refinery. Having selected Honeywell as the partner for the project, Dangote is attempting to strengthen the Nigerian energy market in the face of adversity, which has become a theme in the African energy sector in recent years.
The company has noted its ambition for the Dangote refinery to become the world’s largest single-location refining complex, and has opted to lean on the expertise of the US energy company to provide the necessary technology for the upscaling of refining capacity.
“Through this agreement, Honeywell will supply specialised catalysts, equipment, and process technologies that will allow the refinery to process a broader slate of crude grades efficiently and to further enhance product quality and operational reliability.” – Dangote statement
Additionally, the new deal will allow Dangote to deploy Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology to boost its polypropylene capacity to 2.4 million metric tonnes per year, noting the company’s ambition to increase its petrochemical footprint in the near future as well. Petrochemical production has become the latest trend to sweep across the entire energy industry worldwide.
“Dangote Group is also advancing its petrochemical footprint. As part of the wider collaboration, we are scaling our polypropylene capacity to 2.4 million metric tons annually using Honeywell’s Oleflex technology. Polypropylene is a key industrial material widely used across packaging, manufacturing, and automotive applications.” – Dangote statement
Dangote is aiming to lead the African energy sector into a new future
The planned expansion of the refining capacity of the Dangote refinery has been an exemplar of the astonishing new growth of the African energy sector in recent years. For example, Algeria has outlined plans to expand petrochemical and refining capacity, marking a shift in the African nation’s energy future. Whether or not the expansion of the Dangote refinery’s capacity will be a success depends on the cooperation between Dangote and Honeywell, but all expectations are pointing to the project moving forward with no issues.
