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Africa’s richest industrialist, Aliko Dangote, on Saturday hosted the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, on a facility tour of the Dangote Refinery, where officials unveiled plans to upgrade the refinery’s marine and port infrastructure.
The technical briefing, held at the refinery’s harbour, was led in part by the Head of Port Infrastructure and Marine Operations, Captain Satendra Singh Rana, who outlined strategic initiatives aimed at boosting export capacity and positioning Nigeria as a regional energy logistics hub.
Rana disclosed that the company is expanding its urea fertiliser plant from three million tonnes per annum to nine million tonnes, a scale that would make it the largest fertiliser facility in the world.
He explained that the current loading process—handled by trucks transporting about 30 tonnes per trip—will be replaced with a fully automated conveyor system linking the fertiliser plant directly to the jetty, significantly improving efficiency.
According to him, the expansion will be supported by an extended harbour, including the construction of four additional tanker jetties to handle products such as liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, gas oil, and aviation fuel.
The upgraded infrastructure is expected to accommodate vessels of up to 250 metres in length, equivalent to about 100,000 deadweight tonnes, while also supporting smaller vessels for domestic distribution.
Rana noted that the development is part of broader efforts to position Nigeria as a bunkering hub in West Africa—an area currently dominated by other regional ports.
He further revealed that the harbour, which currently operates at a depth of about nine metres and handles roughly 33,000 tonnes per vessel, is being deepened to 14.5 metres. This upgrade will enable the loading of up to 60,000 tonnes per ship for urea exports and allow larger tankers to berth.
Highlighting the engineering innovation behind the project, Rana said the port features what he described as the world’s only sand-built breakwater—a design he noted is more sustainable, faster to construct, and significantly more cost-effective than conventional rock structures. He added that the model has attracted academic interest from universities studying its potential application in future port developments.
During the visit, Dangote provided further insights into the refinery’s long-term export and logistics strategy, while Ojulari engaged officials on issues of capacity, operations, and scalability.
The visit comes as the Dangote Refinery continues to ramp up operations and expand its supporting infrastructure.
