Dangote Industries plans to launch a fuel pipeline network of up to 2,650 kilometres in October, starting in Namibia and extending across Southern Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the group builds infrastructure to distribute petroleum products across the continent.
The planned network will run from Namibia through Botswana into South Africa, with another line extending through Zimbabwe and Zambia to the DRC, potentially creating a new fuel supply corridor linking the Atlantic coast with several landlocked regional markets.
Dangote Group Chairman Aliko Dangote disclosed the project during the formal opening of the initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian Exchange.
“So sometime in October we’re also launching a pipeline that is 2,620 or 2,650 kilometres, starting from Namibia. From Namibia we’ll take it to Botswana, Botswana into the other side of South Africa, and we’re also taking up another line which will now go to Zimbabwe. From Zimbabwe it will go to Zambia. From Zambia it will go to the DRC,” Dangote said.
The announcement comes as Dangote Industries Namibia (Pty) Ltd advances plans for a petroleum storage terminal at Walvis Bay, potentially establishing Namibia as a storage and distribution point for the group’s regional fuel operations.
According to a public notice issued as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, the proposed terminal would occupy 678,912 square metres of industrial land on Farm 58, about 10 kilometres east of Walvis Bay and six kilometres north of Walvis Bay International Airport.
The terminal is intended to increase Namibia’s strategic petroleum storage capacity and strengthen fuel security while supporting the movement of petroleum products into neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) markets, particularly landlocked countries.
The proposed Walvis Bay terminal could complement the regional pipeline network, although Dangote has not disclosed technical details of how the two projects would be integrated.
The Southern African expansion comes as Dangote Petroleum Refinery increases production and targets a larger share of African and international petroleum markets.
Dangote said the refinery had sold out its jet fuel production for August and September, excluding volumes reserved for Nigeria, and was also supplying European markets.
“Dangote Petroleum Refining is a world-class industrial asset. It is the largest refinery in the continent of Africa and well on its way to becoming the largest in the world. Built to international standards and equipped with modern technology, it is also the only large-scale operational refinery currently supplying Nigeria’s domestic market at a scale while also serving other African markets and international markets,” he said.
The group plans to expand the refinery to a capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day as it increases its petroleum and petrochemical production.
Dangote also plans to produce 2.5 million tonnes of polypropylene annually and develop a 400,000-tonne linear alkyl benzene plant in Nigeria. Linear alkyl benzene is a major feedstock used in detergent manufacturing.
The expansion is part of Dangote Group’s planned US$46 billion, approximately N$753 billion, investment programme through 2030.
Beyond Southern Africa, the group is planning additional energy infrastructure in East Africa, including a port, tank farms and a long-distance petroleum pipeline linking Somalia and Ethiopia.
Dangote said the group has sufficient funding to pursue its expansion programme, with the refinery’s IPO primarily aimed at broadening ownership rather than raising capital for the projects.
The company initially targeted US$2.5 billion through a US$1 billion private placement and a US$1.5 billion IPO, with demand for the private placement exceeding the available allocation.
Dangote said the refinery could also pursue an international listing, potentially in the United States, within the next three to four years.
