A turning point for African industrialization

Africa’s richest person, the Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, has built the world’s largest single-train oil refinery in Lekki, on the southern outskirts of Lagos. With a crude processing capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, the facility has produced petroleum products such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel for African and global markets since 2024. But Dangote’s refinery has taken on new importance following the major energy disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Many Western governments and companies are now buying refined oil and jet fuel from the Lagos facility.