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AfrOil: African refining capacity set to rise by 1.2mn bpd in medium term

OPEC has said, in the latest edition of its World Oil Outlook report, that Africa is on track to add 1.2mn barrels per day (bpd) of primary refining capacity in the medium term, with Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery accounting for more than half of the total.

The 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery is the largest downstream facility slated for completion in Africa by the end of this decade. It is a newbuild plant, but both newbuild and expansion projects will contribute to the expansion of Africa’s refining capacity in the medium term, World Oil Outlook notes.

Both new construction and the expansion of existing facilities have the potential to benefit Africa by helping to meet the growing demand for fuel in many African countries, while also reducing net importers’ reliance on foreign suppliers, the report added. This dependence has proven to be very financially burdensome this year, it noted, as the price rises that have followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have made imported fuel very expensive.