Aliko Dangote has announced plans to expand the Dangote Group’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery complex with a new petrochemical facility that will make Nigeria a leading supplier of detergent raw materials for Africa, according to Business Insider Africa.
The planned plant will produce approximately 400,000 tonnes per year of Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB), a key feedstock for detergents and cleaning products. At this scale, the facility could satisfy nearly all of Africa’s current demand for LAB, which is largely met through imports.
CediRates noted that the project will be constructed within the refinery’s industrial hub in the Lekki Free Trade Zone and is expected to be completed within 30 months. By expanding into petrochemicals, the refinery aims to diversify Nigeria’s industrial base beyond fuel production and support downstream manufacturing growth.
The move comes as Africa’s largest refinery approaches full operational capacity, positioning the complex as a multi-product industrial centre rather than solely a fuel-processing facility. BusinessDay says the detergent feedstock plant could reduce the continent’s reliance on imports, lower production costs for manufacturers, and strengthen local value chains in the consumer goods sector.
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