Africa bucks global refining trend
Despite oil companies the world over mothballing old refineries and putting new projects on hold, there has been a recent bustle of activity in sub-Saharan Africa
Three countries—Congo, Angola and Nigeria—have seen the bulk of the activity. Congo (Brazzavile) is pressing ahead with a $600mn integrated export refinery and petrochemical complex, while Angola is building three new facilities and tripling gasoline production at its Luanda refinery. The Dangote Group expects the first phase of its 650,000bl/d Nigerian refinery—the continent’s largest—to be completed in January. Tendering is also under way for the long-awaited rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four state-owned facilities. A scattering of smaller, modular refineries are also in the works. “There has been a flurry of small African refining projects just as shutdown announcements of European and Ame
Also in this section
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
8 January 2026
The region’s access to versatile feedstock, combined with policy support, is setting it up to meet growing demand both at home and abroad
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives






