An international energy consortium has secured a massive $50 billion investment to develop what will become Africa’s second-largest oil refinery in Ondo State, Nigeria, marking one of the largest private-sector energy investments in West Africa.
The mega project, spearheaded by Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited in partnership with NEFEX Holdings Limited of Canada, will feature a refinery with a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day alongside a 1,471-hectare free trade zone. Once operational, the facility will surpass Algeria’s Skikda Refinery, currently Africa’s second-largest at 356,500 barrels per day, making Nigeria home to both the continent’s largest and second-largest refining facilities.
The funding was secured following the execution of a memorandum of understanding between Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited and the Ondo State government through the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency. BINL chairman Ken Nnamani led the firm’s leadership team on a courtesy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, where discussions centered on the project’s potential to create thousands of jobs and attract complementary investments in logistics, storage, and distribution.
BINL’s vice president for corporate services, Wale Adekola, explained that NEFEX Petroline brings extensive expertise from operations spanning the Middle East, Europe, and North America, combining the advantages of a global network with deep local understanding for long-term developmental impact.
The refinery is designed to supply refined petroleum products locally and across Africa, complementing the existing 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos. Together, these two mega refineries could process more than 1.1 million barrels of crude per day, marking a transformative milestone for a continent that has long struggled with limited refining capacity and heavy reliance on imported fuels. This figure is projected to rise to nearly 2 million barrels per day once Dangote completes its planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com