Dangote gets $4.25bn (670bn naira) loan to build the biggest refinery in Nigeria

Nigerian billionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote while speaking at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, revealed that Dangote Group of Companies has secured loans of up to $4.25bn (670bn naira) from a consortium of banks to build an oil refinery.

This is in a bid to help Nigeria reduce her overdependence on oil imports.

Refining “is an excellent business to get into”, he said on Wednesday in an interview in Cape Town. 

“We have already secured $4.25bn from two offshore banks and the rest are
Nigerian banks,” he said.

The refinery is expected to have an output of about 400,000 barrels daily. This production capacity will make it the biggest refinery in Nigeria as the four working refineries refine a combined 445,000 barrels of oil per day.

Construction of the refinery is expected to cost up to $8bn to complete it and it is expected to be completed by late 2016. The refinery will be located in the South Western part of Nigeria according to the Vice President of Dangote Group, Sani Dangote.

Nigeria – the largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa – produces about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil daily but depends heavily on imported oil to service about 70% of her petroleum product needs.

Dangote is the richest black man in the world with an estimated worth of $16.1bn according to the latest Forbes rich list.

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