Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest man on the continent of Africa, is hitting the jackpot with a new oil refinery in Nigeria. His net worth, a whopping $19.6 billion, is set to climb even higher, thanks to this project. Dangote, the founder of Dangote Group, officially kicked off the venture in mid-January.
The refinery, after facing some delays, finally started production earlier this month. Nigeria, despite its heavy reliance on oil, has been importing most of its fuel due to a shortage of refineries. Dangote’s refinery plans to change that narrative, eyeing a production capacity of up to 650,000 barrels a day in the future.
While this sounds like a game-changer, Rafiq Raji from the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program remains skeptical. He told Business Insider that expecting the refinery to hit 100,000 barrels a day initially would be a stretch. Full capacity might not be on the horizon until 2027, with Raji noting suboptimal yields at the current stage of completion. According to him, “they’d make more money by simply selling the crude.”
Be sure to follow Aliko Dangote on Instagram @Aliko_DangoteGCON
