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
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






