Lagos — An oil refinery being built by Aliko Dangote would account for half of his conglomerate’s assets when it was finished in 2019, a senior executive told Reuters, underscoring the scale of the bet being made by Africa’s richest man on Nigerian oil and gas. Dangote built his fortune on cement, though his sprawling business empire also spans flour milling, agriculture and real estate. Now he is building the world’s largest single oil refinery and also expanding into fertiliser, aiming to tackle long-standing problems in Nigeria’s energy markets. Though Africa’s biggest crude oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all its petrol due to poor maintenance of its four state-owned refineries. Dangote hopes to meet the fuel needs of the entire country. Dangote group executive director Devakumar Edwin said the $10bn refinery should be completed by December 2019. "As of today, cement is the biggest part of the group. By 2020 the refinery will be the biggest by assets," he said at the site i...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.