Bloomberg, a financial data and media company, has ranked the Dangote Refinery in Lagos State, Nigeria, above the top 10 biggest refineries in Europe. The refinery, worth $20 billion and located on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, has a capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of petroleum products per day, surpassing many European refineries in capacity.
According to Bloomberg's report, the Dangote Refinery's capacity exceeds that of Shell's Pernis Refinery in the Netherlands, which has an installed capacity of 404,000 barrels per day (bpd), making it the largest in Europe. Other European refineries listed in the report include the BP Rotterdam Refinery in the Netherlands with a capacity of 380,000 bpd, the GOI Energy ISAB Refinery in Italy with 360,000 bpd, and the TotalEnergies Antwerp refining facility in Belgium with 338,000 bpd, among others.
The Dangote Refinery has been described as a 'game changer' by Bloomberg, as it takes advantage of cheaper US oil imports for a significant portion of its feedstock. Analysts believe that the refinery, which has started shipping products and is readying units for petrol output, will significantly impact the fuel market in Nigeria and the region.
Recent reports suggest that the Dangote Refinery's operations could disrupt the decades-long petrol trade from Europe to Africa, worth $17 billion annually. The refinery has already begun selling diesel in Nigeria, leading to a reduction in pump prices from N1,600 to N940 in less than a month.
